


Homecoming

by HulkWidowShipper



Series: Green Rage Monsters and Russian Spies [2]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Awesome Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Feels, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Endgame broke me, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Non-Explicit Sex, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, This Is My Fix It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-06-02 10:41:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 49,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19439800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HulkWidowShipper/pseuds/HulkWidowShipper
Summary: Second part in the Green Rage Monsters and Russian Spies series.You don't really need to read the first part to follow here but would be good if you did just to get a feel of how I've written out Bruce and Natasha's relationship.Hope you enjoy :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Engame really did break me- I cried on multiple occassions and I have never cried at a movie before (this is what unhealthy attachments to fictional characters gets you).  
> So in my attempt to get over my grief I've wirtten a happy (kinda) fic whereby Thor didn't fuck up and cut off Thanos' hand before the snap (and consequent grief) could happen. It's pretty much IW compliant until that last scene and then I just go off on my trail of happiness for everyone's favourite MCU pairing.  
> Despite straying away from the movies, I have attempted to stick to everyone's movie characterisation but I do apologies if it gets a little OOC.  
> I may actaully write an Endgame compliant fic for these two but that would require me to get over my initail grief seen as we all know how that fic would end.

Two years. It’s been two years since Natasha had seen Bruce Banner. Her life had changed so much. She’d been involved in a war between Tony and Steve. She’d been branded as a fugitive and spent the past year on the run with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson.

Yet the one thing that never changed was how she felt about Bruce. She’d tried so hard to forget about him, some days she actually would. And then she’d walk past a store that was selling Hulk merch or she’d pick up his Culver University sweater that still smelt like him and it would all come flooding back. Everything had become tainted with memories of him. Christmas reminded her of the Christmas Eve they had spent decorating the tree and wrapping presents. Fireworks made her think back to the kiss they shared on New Year's Eve. Hell, even a simple bottle of vodka reminded her of the many nights they'd spend drinking and chasing away their demons. No matter how hard she tried to forget him, everything reminded her of Bruce Banner.

She was still mad that he left her. So unbelievably mad that he just took off and never looked back. Yet somehow, standing here in the middle of an ‘end of the universe as we know it’ type event, all she felt for him was love. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw him.

“Hi, Bruce.”

“Nat” The sound of her name passing through his lips nearly sends a shiver down her spine. God, it had been so long since she’d heard him say her name.

“This is awkward” Wilson whispers to Steve and Rhodes.

Steve clears his throat. “It’s good to have you back Banner.” Bruce nods in response. “Wilson, Rhodes, maybe we should leave these two to uh… catch up.”

They both remain silent until it’s just the two of them left in the room. Natasha is the first to break the silence “You’re back.” Her voice taking on the signature expressionless tone of the Black Widow.

“You’re blonde.” She stares at him blankly. “I like it.” That makes her smile again.

“Look, Bruce-”

“I love you!” he says over her.

"Well that's one way to start a conversation."

"I know. And I know you probably hate me right now. And we probably have missed our window. Hell, I probably shattered that window when I left.” He starts pacing towards her, about to reach out for her hands but he stops himself. He doesn’t think he has the right to touch her like that, not after how he left her. “Look, I know we have a lot to talk about but Thanos is coming, and I don’t know if we’ll walk away from this one. And I don’t want anything to happen before I get the chance to say it. So… yeah… I love you.” Natasha releases a long breath she didn’t realise she was holding.

“Bruce…”

“I’m sorry. I know whatever you did felt for me probably faded years ago but I love you, Natasha. And I just needed you to know that. Because I…”

“Bruce!”

He nervously reaches a hand to the back of his neck. “I should probably go… I…”

She closes the last bit of distance between them, reaching a hand around his neck and pulling his lips towards hers in a soft kiss; an effective way to get him to stop talking. She pulls away after a few seconds to whisper against his lips “I love you too, Bruce.” before leaning back into another kiss. Bruce’s hands rest on her waist and she can feel his smile against her lips.

She wishes they could stay in this moment forever. In these few seconds where there isn’t a Mad Titan on his way to wipe out half the universe, or where they don’t have a looming discussion about the way he left awaiting them. In these few seconds where all that matters is the two of them.

But she knows it can’t last. The world needs the Avengers and they have to go be heroes again. She breaks away from the kiss but remains in his embrace.

“I’m still mad Bruce.” He winces slightly at that, but it was to be expected. “I’m mad that you made me fall in love with you and then you left me. And I know you were pissed that I pushed you, but you shouldn’t have left me like that. So yes, I love you, but we can’t just go back to whatever we were before Sokovia because we need to talk about that.” She sighs heavily. “But as usual, our timing is impeccable because of course there is another end of the world event taking place.”

Bruce cups both her cheeks with his hands before pulling her in for another kiss. He pulls away slowly after a few seconds. “Our timing sucks doesn’t it?” That gets a small laugh from both of them. Bruce places one last chaste kiss to her lips as they head to meet back with the others.

They soon find themselves on the way to Wakanda to get help extracting the stone from Vision’s head. The battle against Thanos and his army is gruelling. They didn’t think they would make it, Vision was dead, Tony was on Titan, and even Steve was down. They were lucky Thor came in when he did, bringing his axe down on Thanos’ arm and then striking a vital blow to the chest.  
Natasha is bruised and battered and she’s pretty sure one or two ribs are broken, but at least they had made it. Right now all she wants are some pain killers and a hot bath, the prospects of both increasing when Rhodey informs them that they still had their rooms available back at the new Avengers facility.

Tony returns with the help of Stephen Strange, the Parker kid tagging along close behind spouting something about aliens and making old pop culture references as he recants the tale of their impromptu space expedition.

She can tell Tony’s injured pretty bad. He’s clutching his left arm around his waist, blood pooling where his hand rests atop a pretty sizeable gash and he’s making an exaggerated effort to play it off as just a scratch. That is until Steve slides under his arm and marches him off towards the medical bay. Natasha is taken aback by the fact that two people who literally went to war with one another and had not spoken in over a year can set that aside and continue on as though it never happened. Though when she really thinks about it, that is the nature of Steve and Tony’s relationship; at each other’s throats one minute and ‘ride or die’ the next.

She can hear the sobs of Wanda, mourning the loss of yet another person that she loved, as Sam attempts to console her. Natasha wonders for a moment if she should be the one to take Sam’s place. Thinks that maybe as the other female on the team the younger woman might appreciate her presence more. But her and Wanda have never quite had that kind of relationship. Though Natasha had accepted her as an addition to the team and treated her with the utmost professional courtesy, she was weary to be friendly with someone who would so willing play with people’s minds the way Wanda had. And she can’t help but think that if Wanda hadn’t unleashed the Hulk back in Johannesburg Bruce would never have felt like he had to run and he would never have left her. Which is probably more so her trying to shift the blame to someone other than herself.

She clears her throat. “Uh, Doc. I think I may have a few broken ribs. I was hoping you could check them out?”

“Yeah, of course. I can clean a few of your cuts too.”

She silently leads the way to her room where they’ll have privacy, the med bay is filled to the brim and the oncoming conversation is not one she wants to have in front of an audience. Bruce doesn’t question her choice of venue, just enters her room and asks where she keeps her first aid kit.

“Bathroom. The cabinet on your right” she sits on the bed zipping down her tac suit to allow Bruce access to her ribs. He re-enters the room and stops as he notices her chest, only covered by her sports bra. She rolls her eyes when she notices. “Christ, Banner! It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

“Sorry, that was highly unprofessional of me.” He readjusts his glasses as he puts the first aid kit beside her and assesses her injuries. His eyes glancing down at her breasts every now and then. Once he’s finished cleaning her cuts, he places a hand on her ribs. “Take a deep breath in for me.” She breathes in, enjoying the feel of his hands on her body once again. “Okay and breath out, slowly… They’re not broken, probably just bruised. Nothing that a few painkillers and a week or two of taking it easy won’t fix.” His eyes and drawn back down to her breasts and she can’t resist.

“Seriously Bruce?” she picks up his hand and places it on her breast “There! Better?” He gulps quite audibly. She picks up his other hand and places it on her other breast. “How about now?” He nods slightly, and she leans in to kiss him “and how about now?” her voice is but a whisper. He doesn’t respond, just returns the kiss, deeper than the one she had given him.

God had Natasha missed this. The taste of his lips. The feel of his hands as they wander up and down her body, squeezing some parts and gently brushing over others, mindful of her bruises. She reaches for the hem of his t-shirt, lifting it over his head. He leans into her easing her back onto the bed making sure not to put all his weight on her. He knows she can handle it, but he doesn’t want to make her bruises any worse. He reaches behind to undo her bra and she releases a sigh, more so because the pressure on her bruised ribs is released. She reaches for his belt buckle, but he grabs her wrist, holding it lightly.

“Are you sure?”

His question is so gentle and genuine that she can’t help but recapture his lips in response. He reaches underneath her pulling off the rest of her tac suit, leaving her lying on her bed naked. He takes a moment to enjoy the sight of her. Even battered and bruised she’s still the most beautiful sight he’s ever seen.

She knows they should talk first. Sex won’t help the situation. But it feels _so good_. She hasn’t been with anyone else in the two years he was gone. Sam had tried to flirt with her on several occasions, and he’d come close one drunken night. But he wasn’t Bruce and she didn’t want anyone but Bruce. So now that he was here, she couldn’t resist. And he knows exactly what she needs; the press of his body on top of hers feels like a homecoming, like finally she can breathe knowing they're safe and they made and before she knows it, she’s trembling from the orgasm that is soaring through her. Bruce follows soon after her and they lie next to each other panting as they try to catch their breath.

Natasha takes a sharp intake of breath and winces at the pain from her ribs. Bruce looks over, concern written all over his face. “Are you okay?.”

“I’m fine.” She sits up taking in a deep breath as she does. “Can you grab me a sweater. Top draw.”

Bruce opens the draw to see his Culver University sweater neatly folded on top of all her other sweaters. He holds it up. “You still have this?”

“Couldn’t take it with me on the run.”

He sighs heavily as he hands it to her. “I really have missed you.”

“So why did you leave me?” Her eyes are glued to him, watching him as he redresses.

He closes his eyes and thinks for a moment “I was hurt. Felt like you betrayed me.” He looks back at her “I wanted to hurt you.”

“And you succeeded in that.” Her voice is small and full of emotion as she says that. Emotion that she usually wouldn’t display but right now she's tired, too exhausted to have to carry on pretending as though what he did didn't affect her in any way. He has to know, has to understand the effect his leaving had on her, how he had torn down her walls and seen a side to her that only a handful of people have, only to walk away and leave her to try and pick up the pieces.

“I left because I was angry. Hurt. Betrayed. I needed _time_ Nat…” He sighs heavily as he digs the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I needed space.”

“Two years is plenty of time.” She has to blink back her tears trying to rebuild her mask. “You may have been hulked out for most of it but I actually had to live through those two years, Bruce. Do you know what that’s like? To sit around and wait… _hope_ that you would come back.”

“And do you know what it’s like to have someone you love betray your trust?”

“Yes, Bruce. I know exactly how that feels.” He stops pacing to look at her. He can see the shine glazing over her eyes. “Because _you_ betrayed _me,_ Bruce. I trusted you and you left without so much as a reason why. I would never have left you without saying anything, no matter what you did.”

“You don’t know that. Nat, you took away my choice. Told me that you adored me and then pushed me down a well. I didn’t know if I could trust you.” He doesn’t bother to mask his own tears. “I loved you and you betrayed me.”

“And I loved you and you left me!” she says as a tear falls down her cheek, her voice raising as her emotions come flooding out. “That’s not something that I do easily Bruce. I don’t just fall in love. But I fell in love with you and one minute you were here, and we were planning the future together and the next minute you’re gone. I spent the past two years trying to get over you and every time I thought I had, some kid walks past with a stupid fucking Hulk backpack or something and I’m reminded that I fucked up and that the person I loved had left me!”

“Do you think it was an easy decision? You made me think I could trust you. I guess now I know you’ll always put the job first.”

He’s right, and it’s what hurts Natasha the most. Because as much as she would like to think that it’s not true the job will always come first.

“Can you blame me? The lives of millions of people over my own happiness? There’s no choice there.” She looks away from him for the first time, only for a few seconds to blink away the rest of her tears before her eyes are back on him. “Were you planning on coming back?” Bruce’s mouth opens and closes but no words come out. “If Thanos hadn’t come. If the earth didn’t need the Avengers. Would you have come back?”

The way Bruce averts his gaze is all the answer she needs and she can’t hold back the new flow of tears that begin to fall. She’s about to say something else when Bruce shakes his head and turns to head towards the door.

“For the record Nat, I would never have taken away your choice like that.”

The door closes with a slam and the ache in Natasha’s chest is just as intense as when he left the first time around; just as painful and she’s sure she doesn’t ever want to feel this pain again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Pepper's wedding and of course Tony has spared no expense for the big day.   
> Bruce attempts to patch things up with Natasha.

“I swear Tony, only you would do something as crazy as hire out an entire island of a small South Pacific country for your wedding day,” Bruce says as he straps himself in for take-off. Flying had never been his favourite mode of transport even before the accident. Now that he had a raging beast living inside of him that tended to wreck things, being in small contained spaces while floating in mid-air was even more troubling for him. Not that you could consider Tony's jet exactly small. It was no Boeing 737 but the aircraft could definitely be repurposed for commercial airlines. “Not to mention you’ve invited all of the Earth's mightiest heroes to the event.”

  
“Bruce, it's my wedding! This is an event that no-one thought would ever happen!” came Tony's reply. “Hell, I still don’t entirely believe it's happening! You gotta go big or go home bro. And I am definitely not going home.” Bruce couldn’t help but chuckle at that, Tony was definitely one to always go big and never go home. “Besides, you’re just antsy because you can’t avoid Red- can I still call her that? I mean she’s not exactly a redhead anymore, but Blonde doesn’t quite have the same ring to it...” Tony contemplates for a moment. “Charlotte, you can’t avoid Charlotte when she’s only a few rows over.” Bruce gives him a confused look at the new nickname. “Charlotte’s web? The movie about a spider and a pig. Jheeze Bruce, they’re not funny if I have to explain them.”

  
“I’m not a petulant child Tony. I'm not avoiding Natasha.”

  
“Really? Is that why you two have barely spoken over the past two months?”

  
Bruce can’t help but roll his eyes at Tony’s response. Tony was right and that’s what made it even more annoying. He had barely said a word to Natasha since they arrived back at the facility after the fight with Thanos. That discussion had been a whirlwind of emotions. They had had sex, argued, Natasha cried, and then Bruce left. Admittedly walking out on her probably wasn’t the best thing to do but Bruce couldn’t find himself willing to turn around and face her again. Especially when the tears were streaming down her face, something Bruce never thought he'd see and didn’t want to see, particularly when he knew he was the reason behind them.

  
But it wasn’t entirely his fault that they hadn’t spoken since that fight. Their apartments were right next to each other in the facility and she was probably avoiding him as much as he was avoiding her. Bruce was still somewhat amazed that they had only awkwardly bumped into each other a few times in their shared hallway when he was coming back from the lab and she was heading to the training facility. Aside from the occasional team meeting, they very rarely occupied the same space. Until now when they were on a private jet on their way to the Cook Islands for Tony and Pepper's wedding.

  
“You know the best man is supposed to give the groom the love advice right?” Tony sighs heavily and Bruce knows that he’s about to try his hand at being profound, which rarely ever works. “Look, bro, you’ve spent most of your adult life thinking that you wouldn’t get another opportunity at love. And now you have and you’re just gonna let her sit over there and think that you don’t care?” He’s trying his best to not turn and look at Natasha but that doesn’t last long as Tony forcefully turns his head in her direction. “Look at her Bruce. That woman is an absolute catch. She’s no Pepper, but she’s pretty close. And most men would kill to have her say I love you to them.”

  
Bruce lets out a heavy sigh. “I know.”

  
“So then what the fuck are you doing still sitting here?” Tony's abruptness catches Bruce a little off guard. “She waited two years for you, Bruce. Do you really think she'll wait much longer?”

  
Again, Bruce finds himself annoyed that Tony is right. He was surprised to find that she had waited for him for so long and he knew he was being a complete idiot by letting this stew.

  
He turns to look back at Tony. “What am I supposed to say to her? I already tried the whole I love you thing and that didn’t seem to work.”

  
“That part my friend, I cannot tell you. But you’ve got the rest of the flight to figure that out, although Pepper's arranged nails and hair things, or whatever kind of girly shit women like to do so you may want to do it soon before all that starts.”

  
“I can’t go now, Barton's with her.” He looks back over to where the two are sat clearly in some deep conversation. “And I’m pretty sure that guy still hates me for leaving.”

  
“I hear ya loud and clear buddy.” Tony claps him on the shoulder before leaning over Bruce and yells back to Clint. “Hey bird brain, there’s a darts board by the bar. I bet you 1000 bucks I can kick your ass!”

  
And of course Tony Stark not only had a darts board on his private jet but a bar too.

  
“How could I refuse such easy money?” came Clint’s mocking retort.

  
“Excuse me Brucey.” Tony doesn’t actually bother waiting for Bruce to move, just unstraps his seatbelt and climbs over him. “Don’t say I never did anything for ya.”

  
Bruce lets out another heavy sigh before getting up and shuffling over to the seat Clint had just been occupying next to Natasha.

  
She already knew what that whole exchange was about given the way she tenses as she stares out the window as he approaches. This was not going to go well but he takes a deep breath and sits himself down in the seat next to her.

  
“Um, hey.” Bruce chides himself for not being able to come up with anything else. And the look in her eyes as she turns to face him told him that she wasn’t impressed with his conversation starter.

  
“Hey? Seriously?” Her tone is nothing but icy and that makes him grimace again. “Two months of practically silence and that’s the best line you can come up with?” She lets out a disbelieving chuckle as she turns back to look out the window.

  
“Natasha I’m trying here!”

  
“You could try a whole lot harder than hey.”

  
“Right.” Bruce takes a moment to think about his next line. “Look I’m sorry. I should have never walked out on that fight...”

  
“It’s what you do isn’t it?” He knows she’s trying to hurt him intentionally and she’s succeeding in that. “You leave. It’s your thing and I’m over it.” She says with a shrug, not bothering to look his way.

  
“Natasha what do you expect from me?” and he knows his voice is coming out angrier than it should but he can’t help it. “You’re pissed that I haven’t spoken to you and you’re pissed that I’ve come to speak to you now. I can’t win here.” He lets out a heavy breath to try and steady his voice. “I’m done fighting Natasha.”

  
And that definitely seems to be the wrong thing to say because she turns to look at him with nothing but anger in her eyes. “Oh really? You’re done fighting so that’s that is it? You’ve decided that the fight is over so we just pick up from where we left off?”

  
“Natasha that’s not what I-”

  
“Funnily enough Bruce but that’s not how it works. Maybe _I’m_ not done fighting. Maybe _I’m_ still mad. Maybe _I'm_ not willing to just start things up again when I know that you can just run off at any minute.” 

  
“Then why did you sleep with me?” It was a question that had been plaguing him since that night. It made no sense in his head to sleep with someone that she clearly had no intention of forgiving.

  
“Because Bruce, it had been _two years_. And I’m not a fucking nun and we had just stopped 50% of the universe from being wiped from existence.” She sighs heavily. “And frankly I wasn’t expecting you to walk out again.” The emotion in her voice is raw and in a flash, she switches back to the icy tone she was using earlier. “Guess that was my own poor judgement, wasn’t it. You know what they say: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...”

  
“Natasha-”

  
Their conversation is disrupted by Pepper who is clearly none the wiser about their heated conversation.

  
“Sorry, Bruce but I’m going to have to steal Natasha away from you.” The stoic blond directs her words to Natasha next. “I know you’re not massively into the whole hair and makeup thing but I’ve also booked a masseuse so I figured you can at least do that part.”

  
“Sure” Natasha unstraps her seatbelt and stands, not even bothering to look at Bruce. “Excuse me.” Her voice holds no expression in it.

  
“So that’s it? Now you’re just gonna up and leave?” He knows he’s only making things worse but her last words have struck a nerve.

  
“What, so you’re allowed to leave but I’m not?” She actually looks at him then and he doesn’t know which is worse, her not looking at him or those fierce green eyes piercing into him. “The irony” she rolls her eyes and Pepper seems to finally pick up on the tone of the conversation as she backs away. “Look, Bruce, I really don’t want to have to climb over you.”

  
He knows there’s no salvaging this train wreck so he gets up and heads straight to the bar where Tony and Clint are sat. He thought he heard her sigh as he left but chooses to ignore her. He’s annoyed at himself for not approaching that better and annoyed at the situation as a whole. He fucked up and now it’s starting to look like he has no chance of repairing the damage he’s caused.

  
“Well, that was a massive shit show.” He says as he reaches behind the bar and grabs himself a bottle of beer from the ice bucket.

  
~*~

  
The rest of the flight was nothing but tense and awkward. Even when getting a full body massage Natasha couldn’t quite relax, still reeling from her earlier argument with Bruce. She didn’t actually want to stay mad at him, but every time they tried to talk all the hurt just came flooding back. She still wasn’t over him leaving her back in Sokovia and that hurt just seemed to well up again each time they spoke.

  
It was fear more than anything. Fear that if she opened herself back up to Bruce that he might just leave her again. That was something she didn’t think she could deal with again. Loving him- _loving anyone_ \- was all new to her and she had felt her heart rip out of her chest when he had left her in Sokovia. That was an all-new kind of pain that she had never felt before and never wanted to feel again.

  
She had no intention of telling him that she loved him when he came back for the fight against Thanos but seeing him after so long and having him say the words to her first and thinking that that could very well be their last fight made the words slip out. She also had no intention of sleeping with him after the fight but it seemed all her intentions went out the window when she was around Bruce.

  
And then they finally tried to have that discussion about him leaving and he confirmed her fears. Bruce would just leave. He always did. She had decided that she wasn’t going to let herself be hurt like that again, hence why she had been avoiding him over the past two months and why she had been so cold with him on the plane. She had told herself that feelings fade and love would be no different. All she had to do was avoid him.

  
But right now, as she sits on one of the sofas in the lounge area of the villa Tony had rented, across from him, she realises that she was so wrong. This wouldn’t just fade and the small smile that creeps its way onto her lips as she watches his display of nervous ticks: peeling the label on his beer; tugging at the hair at the back of his neck; wringing his hands, proves to her that she was still in love with Bruce Banner.

  
That just made her even more frustrated. Particularly at the fact that she couldn’t control this feeling. That she couldn’t just switch it off like every other emotion she had ever felt. She could push it down though. Push it down into the furthest depths of her mind and just ignore the feeling and act as if it wasn’t there.

  
Pepper's panicked voice snaps Natasha out of her thoughts. “Tony we have to call off the wedding!”

  
Those words coming from Pepper surprise her. She was sure if any of the two were going to bolt it was going to be Tony.

  
“Pep, sweetie don’t you think you’re being a little overdramatic?”

  
“Tony, my sister can’t make it! She's stranded in some airport in Thailand and she can’t come to my wedding! I’m not getting married without my sister here!” Natasha could see the fear on Tony’s face that this wedding might actually get cancelled.

  
Tony’s voice takes on a softer tone than Natasha ever thought the Billionaire was capable of “Look Pep. How about this. As soon we come back from our honeymoon I’ll arrange for us to fly out to Thailand and we can have a small ceremony with your sister there.”

  
“Really?”

  
“Of course.” And naturally Tony has to ruin the rather endearing moment with one of his sarcastic comments. “Where is she again? Bangkok? I hear they’re into all kinds of weird sex stuff over there.” He waggles his eyebrows at Pepper as the woman hits him playfully on the arm. “We could even go and see a ping pong show for the entertainment.” Pepper hits him on the arm again, this time with a little more force in it but she follows it up with a soft kiss and a mumble of something that seemed like an I love you and judging by Tony’s retort of “I know” Natasha assumes it was.

  
“I still don’t have a Maid of Honour though.” Pepper states with a frown before she turns to Natasha. “I know it’s last minute and I completely understand if you don’t want to but...”

  
“I’d be glad to.” Natasha cuts the woman off before she can say anything further. Given that Pepper is probably her closest female friend next to Laura Natasha doesn’t even need to think about the request before her decision is made. “What do you need me to do?”

  
“Nothing much will change. The dresses are the same seen as you were already in the wedding party. You’ll just need to plan my bachelorette party tonight and give a toast at the reception.”

  
“Consider it done.”

  
Pepper’s smile is instantaneous at Natasha's agreement and Natasha can’t help but respond in kind. Then the smile falters as Pepper seems to realise something and given the way the woman is looking between Natasha and Bruce; she knows she isn't going to like it.

  
“There is also one other change. Instead of walking down the aisle with Steve...” Pepper’s nervousness has already led Natasha on to what the woman is going to say next. “You’ll walk down the aisle with the best man... With Bruce.”

  
Bruce's eyes widen at that announcement and Natasha has to school her own reaction. She just gives the woman a small nod and maintains a neutral expression on her face.  
She finds herself thankful for Tony's voice breaking the awkward silence that ensues. “Okay, now that that’s sorted. Room keys.” Tony proceeds to throw keys around to each of them. “Girls on the ground floor. Guys on the second.” He chucks a set of keys to Bruce. “Best man on the third along with recently upgraded Maid of Honour.” He turns to chuck a set of keys to Natasha, which she catches mid-air. “Separate rooms of course, but given that the best man and Maid of Honour tend to hook up at these things-”

  
Tony doesn’t get to finish his comment as Pepper gives him yet another whack to the arm, this one a lot less playful. “Tony!”

  
“Ahh!” Tony reaches for his arm in mock pain. “It’s true though.” Tony seems to drop it at the death glare that Pepper sends him, which Natasha has to admit rivals her own. He holds out a set of keys in front of Pepper. “Want to check out our room?” Tony grips the woman’s arm at her grin and pulls her along to head to the stairs.

  
The rest follow shortly after as they all head to their respective rooms to freshen up and get ready for the night.

  
Bruce is stood awkwardly at his door as Natasha comes up the stairs. He’s fumbling with his key and if Natasha didn’t know him better she would have said he was faking it. She can’t help but smile at the sight and reaches over to take the key from his hand. She easily fits the key in the lock and twists it as the door unlocks and she pushes it open.

  
Bruce’s “Thanks” is a mere mumble as he looks into the room and marvels at the elaborate decorations and furnishings. “Wow, Tony really didn’t spare any expense.”

  
“Well, he did sort of rent out a whole island. You weren’t really expecting him to skimp on accommodation were you?”

  
Bruce’s slight chuckle is like music to her ears and she revels in the sound, forgetting momentarily that she is supposed to be mad at him. She swiftly slides into her room before he can say anything that would make this whole 'forgetting you're still in love with Bruce Banner' thing a lot harder. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Staying mad at Bruce Banner is too bloody difficult!

Natasha can't help but chuckle at herself as she looks in the mirror. Never in her life had she imagined that she would be wearing such a ridiculous outfit and not as part of a cover. Had it truly been up to her, she would have forgone the outfits and just skipped ahead to the drinking part of the occasion, but Pepper's sister had already ordered the outfits for everyone and Natasha figured she could endure this all for one night.

  
She picks up her headband with the two fluffy pink pompoms sticking out of it and leaves her room to join the rest downstairs. Of course, Bruce would be leaving his room at the exact same time.

  
He doesn’t seem to be wearing any kind of ridiculous outfit and is, in fact, wearing his best tux, bow tie and everything. The difference in their two outfits makes her feel all the more ridiculous and she can see the smile he’s unsuccessfully trying to hide.

  
Natasha gives him one of her signature glares. “Something funny.”

  
The lack of amusement in her tone does well to squash Bruce’s bubbling laughter. “No, uh.” He coughs to clear his throat. “Nothing at all.” They continue down the stairs in awkward silence and Natasha actually starts to feel bad for the icy tone she’d taken with him.

  
She could’ve engaged in small talk but now wasn’t the time to fix her relationship with Bruce Banner or yet the distinct lack of relationship. She had to get herself into 'party mode' and assume her Maid of Honour responsibilities for the night. Which according to the internet search that she did on Bachelorette parties basically just meant get Pepper as drunk as humanly possible, not too hard given that Pepper was a bit of a lightweight.

  
They join the others downstairs and it becomes immediately clear to Natasha that the bachelorette party and the bachelor party are going for two polar opposite themes. The girls are all wearing the same ridiculous pink get up as Natasha and the guys are sporting their best tuxedos stopped.

  
Laughter begins to erupt throughout the room and even Natasha’s best death glare isn’t doing much to stop it.

  
“This is a good look for you Romanoff, what have you got planned for the girlies?” Natasha sends him his own personal death glare. “It’s my wedding weekend! You’re not allowed to threaten to kill me on my own wedding weekend!”

  
Natasha sighs heavily at that. “We’ve got VIP to the best club on the island and we’re basically gonna get Pepper as drunk as we possibly can.” She says with a shrug; it was the best she could come up with on such short notice.

  
“Oooh, I wanna go to the best club on the island!” Tony whines. “Bruce, why aren’t we doing that?”

  
“Because Tony, there’s only one club on this island so it’s the best by default.” Bruce doesn’t dare look at Natasha when he says that, knowing the look she’d be giving him. “Besides, we’ve got cigars and scotch and poker. What more could you want?” Tony’s about to add something when Bruce cuts him off. “No, I didn’t get strippers.”

  
Tony turns back to Natasha “have you guys got strippers?”

  
“No. But I have got a list of dares that Pepper has to do.” Natasha hands Tony the list to have a look. “For every one that she doesn’t do, she has to do a shot.”

  
“Oh, she is not doing any of these! Number 5? No chance!”

  
Natasha shrugs again. “For every one she does do, we each do two shots.”

  
“Let me see this list.” Pepper reaches over Tony and snatches the list out of his hand. “Oh, you are on Romanoff! Hope your Russian genes have prepared you because I am doing every one of these. Especially number 5.” She gives Tony a coy smile and kisses him on the forehead.

  
“Friends!” Thor’s voice comes bellowing through the living room as he comes in from the kitchen carrying a tray of shots. Standing in his tux with his new haircut makes him look as though he is a modelling for a men’s fragrance. Natasha could imagine him doing some kind of Hugo Boss advertisement. “Before we part into our separate gendered groups for a night of laughter and drinking I propose a toast.” He passes around the shots, ensuring everyone has one. “It is customary on Asgard for each participant in the wedding celebrations to toast over a glass of the finest of Asgardian liquors. But seen as you are all mere mortals I have deemed your absurdly small glasses more appropriate.” Thor raises his shot glass. “To the union of Lady Potts and Mr Stark.”

  
Thor’s short toast is met with a roar of cheers as everyone downs their shots. Natasha has to breathe through the burn of whatever it is that Thor had given them and school her reaction to it. That had to be the strongest thing she had ever drunk and she could already feel the lightheadedness that usually requires half a bottle of vodka to get her to this state. If she was feeling this way then it was fair to assume that the other ladies would definitely already be on their way to being buzzed.

  
She squeezes her eyes shut and opens them wide a few times before her vision refocuses. “Okay ladies, we've got a party bus waiting for us outside so we had better get going.” She’s sure she’s not slurring her words but it won’t be long before she is.

  
As Natasha follows the other ladies towards the door she feels a large hand wrap around her forearm, holding her back. She turns to see Thor holding up the flask of Asgardian liquor.

  
“Lady Natasha, I understand that Earth’s liquors have as little effect on you as they do me.” He lifts her open hand and places the flask in it. “I do so hope that this will enable you to enjoy the night of pleasantries.” And with that, the god returns to the rest of the guys.

  
Of course, Pepper did every dare that was on the list, much to Natasha's surprise. Which also meant that Natasha was made to consume quite a number of shots, which usually wouldn’t be so bad but whatever was in Thor’s flask of potent liquor packed quite the punch. Natasha found that for the first time in a long time, she was actually drunk. Like, could barely see straight, wobbling as she stepped, falling asleep in the party bus as they head back to the villa drunk. And in her drunken state, the only thing she found herself thinking about was Bruce. About how good he looked in his tux, about how much she missed him, about how much she wanted to just forget about all that had happened between them and just start fresh.

  
She had no intention of going to Bruce's room when she got back, but between her drunken thoughts of him and her body doing whatever it wanted, she found herself knocking on his bedroom door.

  
“Natasha?” A look of concern spreads across his sleepy face. She looks an absolute mess. Her hair was all over the place, she had lost her tutu and her T-shirt was covered in what he could only assume was alcohol of some kind. And yet somehow, despite her appearance, she still looked absolutely stunning. “Are you okay?”

  
Natasha leans against his doorway and nods slowly. An action she deeply regrets doing as she’s pretty sure the world is still nodding even as she stops moving her head.

  
“I couldn’t find my key.” She offers as some kind of explanation for her presence in his room, although she was more than capable of picking the lock she maybe wouldn’t be able to do it in this current state. “and I missed you.”

  
“Natasha are you drunk?” She Clearly hadn’t learnt her lesson from the last time and attempted to nod again, causing everything around her to start moving again. The motion made her dizzy and she found herself stumbling away from the door in an attempt to regain her balance. Bruce seems to already anticipate what was about to happen and steps in front of her to catch her before she to topples over. “Woah! I take it Pepper did all of her dares?”

  
“Yeah.” Her answer is muffled slightly by Bruce’s chest which she was now nuzzling into, enjoying the familiarity of the warmth and comfort. “I really didn’t think she’d do number 5.”

  
“If you’re this bad then the others must be a state!”

  
“Wanda threw up, Sam had to carry Pepper up to her room and I’m pretty sure Maria was trying to make out with Steve.” She pulls her head back to look up at him. “Can I sleep in here? I really don’t think I’m capable of picking a lock right now.”

  
Bruce sighs heavily. “Yeah. Uh. I’ll sleep downstairs or something.”

  
Natasha frowns at that. “Bruce, we're just going to sleep. We can share a bed.” She tucks her head back into his chest, not liking how the room has started spinning again. “It’s not like we haven’t done a lot more.”

  
“Yeah, no. You're drunk and we're not doing that. I’ll uh. I’ll just sleep on the couch.” Natasha grumbles something incoherently against his chest which he decides to just assume was an agreement. “I’ll get you some water.” Bruce heads to his bathroom to fill and cup with water and by the time he comes back Natasha is stripped down to just her underwear with her hands behind her back fiddling with the clasp of her bra. Bruce is stunned by both her current state and the speed at which she managed to strip off her clothes whilst this drunk. “No, Natasha! Don’t undo that!” Too late. Bruce puts the glass down and retrieves one of his t-shirts from his bag and hands it out to her, one hand covering his eyes. She starts to grumble incoherently again and he finds himself fighting back the laughter. “Natasha put the t-shirt on please.”

  
“Fine.” She grumbles whilst doing it but Bruce is happy she’s finally cooperating.

  
“Now can you please drink some water.”

  
Natasha takes hold of the cup, spilling some as she walks over to his bed. “I’m not a kid Bruce. There’s no need to patronise me.” She slumps down on the bed and drinks down the entire glass. Bruce is stood by the bed, arms crossed as he watches her. “Are you gonna get into bed or what?”

  
He chuckles slightly, even when drunk Natasha is persistent. “Not happening. You can take my bed; I’ll take the couch.”

  
Natasha rolls her eyes and yawns as she tucks into the bed hugging herself into the pillow. Bruce pulls the blankets over her and has to fight back the urge to tuck the loose strand of hair behind her ear and kiss her forehead.

  
He’s just about to turn to head to the sofa when he hears Natasha’s small voice seep through the silence. “I still love you, Bruce.” He freezes at the words “I always will.” And he actually feels his chest constrict. “I just don’t want to get hurt again.” Her words are so quiet he would’ve missed them completely if the room hadn’t been silent.

  
He doesn’t know what to make of that. He knows that the alcohol has loosened her inhibitions and made her more truthful but he also knows that had she been sober she would’ve never admitted that. He feels almost as though he’s intruding by listening in on what are supposed to be her private thoughts.

  
Even if he did want to talk about those feelings right now it would be useless. Natasha is in the drunkest state he’s ever seen her in and judging by the light snoring she’s in no condition to talk.

  
~*~

  
Heavy drinking wasn’t something new to Natasha. The only way to build up a tolerance like hers was to drink much and often, and she had started from a fairly young age. Yet despite years of heavy drinking, Natasha could probably count on one finger the number of times she’s woken up and not remembered parts of what happened the night before, and now she could count that on two fingers.

  
She vaguely remembers leaving the club and partially remembers having a conversation with Pepper about Bruce that went somewhere down the lines of love will find a way. But after that things just seemed to be a blur. And she definitely doesn’t know how she wound up in Bruce's room, in Bruce’s bed, in nothing but her underwear and one of Bruce’s t-shirts.

  
She sits up instantly and there clearly must still be some alcohol in her system as the whole room starts to spin as she does so. Her eyes finally fall on Bruce who is sprawled out on the sofa, head hanging over the edge with his mouth wide open. A small smile creeps its way onto her face as she realises that he’d taken care of her in her drunken state last night and did the very Bruce-like thing to do and gave up his bed for her. He could've easily dumped her on the couch and she would’ve been just as happy. It was moments like this that made staying mad at the dorky scientist so damn hard.

  
Natasha seizes her opportunity to make a swift exit from the room and bolts out of the bed. She picks up her clothes that had been neatly folded and stacked on the dresser, her bra hidden between the t-shirt and jeans, yet another dorkishly Bruce-like thing to do. Picturing him doing that elicits an involuntary groan from the spy as she realises that maybe she isn’t able to maintain this facade of anger towards Bruce and that her idea of just pushing down her feelings isn’t really going to work if he was going to continue doing adorable things like that.

  
That groan seems to be enough to wake the sleeping scientist as he jolts up and catches sight of her just as she’s turning to leave.

  
“Natasha?” His voice is groggy and tiresome and it had to be one of the most adorable things she’d ever heard. She can’t turn to look at him. She knows if she does then it’ll be game over and right now that was not something she could deal with.

  
She carries on out the door and darts across the hallway to her own door. Her key is on the floor a few inches away from the door and if anything that only serves to confuse her more about the events of last night.

  
And just as she thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, the voice of Tony Stark proves her wrong. “I knew I was right about the whole Best Man and Maid of Honour hooking up thing.”

  
She rolls her eyes not bothering to dignify that with a response or bothering to correct him on that assumption. Mainly because she’s not sure what explanation she could offer to explain the situation to him.

  
“Fuck off Tony.” It seems the one person who could clear things up isn’t in the mood to do that either. “Natasha, can we talk?”

  
She really isn’t in the mood for talking right now. She needs to think and maybe sleep some more. She doesn’t stop in her mission to get away from the situation and closes her door just as she hears Tony say, “you know Bruce, not everything can be solved by playing hide the zucchini."

  
~*~

  
Natasha didn’t even realise she had fallen asleep until she’s awoken by a knock on her door.

  
“Natasha. It’s me.” Bruce's voice comes through the door and the fact that he came to talk after what happened- whatever actually did happen- doesn’t surprise her in the slightest. “I’ve brought breakfast... And coffee... Figured you could use some coffee.”

  
She definitely needs coffee and food, the only catch is accepting the food is going to mean talking to Bruce, which she'd have to do at some point. Might as well get it over with.  
She makes her way over to the door- still wearing nothing but panties and Bruce’s t-shirt, because where’s the point in being modest now- and takes in the sight outside her door. Bruce Banner holding a tray with two cups of coffee, a vase with a pink rose in it and a stack of pancakes with the word ‘sorry’ spelt out with whipped cream and strawberries offering her a self-deprecating smile. The whole scene is the very depiction of the dork that she can’t help but love and pretty much makes her mind up for her.

She was so done with being mad.

  
“Can we talk?” he offers with a slight shrug.

  
She can’t help but toy with him a little. “Is that rose from one of Pepper’s bouquets?” and his nervous grin all but confirms that. “Get in here you dork.”

  
He sets the tray down on the coffee table and sits at the end of the couch, nervously wringing his hands. Natasha sits at the opposite end and immediately reaches for one of the mugs. Coffee was definitely a good shout and the taste of the bitter liquid is almost heavenly.

  
After a few sips of his own coffee, Bruce seems to finally work up the courage to break the silence. “Look, Natasha. I am so unbelievably sorry. I should have never left back in Sokovia or after our fight. It goes down as the dumbest thing I have ever done. And I’m the guy that irradiated himself and turned himself into a giant green rage monster.” Natasha actually snorts at that and chokes slightly on her coffee. She’s about to respond when Bruce continues. “I love you Natasha and I am so sorry that I hurt you. And I know you hate me and probably want nothing to do with me but last night sort of gave me hope but then you ran out this morning and I swear I will spend the rest of my life making up for hurting you and-”

  
He was rambling now and she needs to just cut him off before he spirals down his path of self-deprecation. “Bruce I don’t hate you. And I don’t want our relationship to be defined by one of us trying to make up for hurting the other. I just want to forget about the whole thing and move on.” His eyes widen a little, clearly not expecting that. “I’m actually really done trying to be mad at you, which you don’t make easy by the way. Especially when you do sweet things like take care of me when I’m unbelievably drunk and bring me breakfast even when I’ve been nothing but cold with you.”

  
“Well, you didn’t really give me much choice.” He huffs out a laugh as he sheepishly scratches the hairs at the back of his neck. “You’re kind of a pushy drunk.”

  
“Sorry about that by the way. Not that I even remember what I’m supposed to be sorry for.”

  
“You don’t remember?” His face seems to change as she shakes her head and she begins to dread what she possibly said or did last night. “Oh, well you didn’t do anything embarrassing or anything like that. You did say that Maria was trying to make out with Steve which I’m assuming she was successful in because I went down to see the two of them snuggled on the couch and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Steve's lipstick smudged all over his face.”

  
Natasha’s not really shocked by that, it seemed to make sense, they were a pretty good match. “Right, well if those two can get their shit together then I think we can. I mean it when I say I’m done being mad with you. It’s too much work and I really suck at trying not to love you.” The corner of her lip quirks up into a smirk. “And you know how much I hate doing things that I’m bad at.” That successfully gets a laugh out of Bruce. “So if you’re willing to give this another try, then so am I.”

  
Bruce looks as though he’s contemplating the proposition, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. “I think I’m gonna have to think about that one.” And the laugh that bubbles through Natasha’s throat has her questioning why she even bothered wasting months trying to be mad at this man. “I’ll think about it.”

  
Natasha swiftly flips one leg over so that she’s straddling his lap, both legs on either side of him. Her hands slide up his chest to his neck, one of them getting lost in the tuff of hair at his nape. She brings her lips right down to his ear, the puffs of breath warm and surging right through him. “Oh, I’m sure I could persuade you.” And the very words send a shiver down his spine.

  
“I dunno, I mean if I can get the Black Widow then it seems the world is my oyster.” Natasha pulls back and quirks an eyebrow at him daring him to continue. “Not that I would want anyone else. You’re kind of perfect.”

  
Her lips quirk into a smile at the compliment as she leans in to kiss him. It had been a long time since Bruce and Natasha had existed in the same space and not been involved in some way and it seemed months of co-existing and not being romantically involved was seeping into this one kiss. Bruce’s hands begin to explore Natasha’s small frame and one has found its way under her t-shirt- well, his t-shirt- and is now resting just under her breast, his thumb teasing her right nipple.

  
It quickly becomes clear this kiss is turning into something more as Natasha pulls back slightly and raises her arms to allow Bruce to pull the t-shirt over her head. She can’t help but make a quip. “We could always just go back to casually fucking like before.” She draws her lips back to his as they engage in another passionate lip lock, only breaking it off to allow Natasha to remove Bruce’s t-shirt. Bruce’s lips move on to her neck now, sending her mind into overdrive and send a sensation between her thighs. “It was always really _really_ good.”

  
She feels Bruce’s head shake against her neck as he trails down to the tender spot of skin between her neck and collar bone. “Wouldn’t work.” He says matter-of-factly before he bites down lightly on the tender skin, careful not to leave a bruise. “I’ll just end up falling for you again like the last time.” He bites down again and this time the act elicits a moan from Natasha. “You’re kind of hypnotizing.”

  
Natasha lets out a breathy chuckle, Bruce really did have a way with words whenever he complimented her. “And when exactly were you caught under my spell?” Her hands are now lost in his hair and she tightens her grip as Bruce bites down again, only this time harder. That was definitely going to leave a bruise, although at this moment in time Natasha really didn’t care.

  
“From way back in Calcutta.” Natasha pulls back slightly to quirk an eyebrow at him. “I’m not exactly used to beautiful women luring me to the outskirts of a city so you kind of spiked my interest.” He explains. “and it was pretty sexy when you pulled a gun on me.” He adds nonchalantly.

  
“Now there’s a kink I never expected from you.” She teases.

  
“And then you started the lullaby and I realised what I felt was more than a little attraction.” His hands start to wonder again and find the curves of her ass. “Didn’t realise I was in love with you until that time you got sick after Thanksgiving.”

  
“You seem to have a thing for when I’m at my most vulnerable points.” She teases again, warranting a laugh from Bruce. “So you just weren’t going to say anything?”

  
“Are you kidding?” Bruce takes his attention away from her neck to look at her. “Have you seen yourself? You were letting me sleep with you. I wasn’t about to ruin that.”

  
Natasha lets out another breathy chuckle before cupping the sides of his face and pressing her lips against his. After a few minutes, she pulls back ever so slightly, resting her forehead against his. “So we run with this?” Bruce recaptures her lips to his own, nodding against the kiss.

  
He still has one hand massaging her ass and the other is sliding round to tease over her pubic bone when the door springs open. “Romanoff-“ Clint comes bursting through the doors and immediately slaps a hand over his eyes “argh! My eyes!”

  
Natasha hugs in tighter to Bruce in an attempt to cover herself “Barton, don’t you ever knock?” She yells as she grabs a cushion and hurls it towards the door.

  
“You’re supposed to put a sock on the door!” he exclaims. “Pepper wants to run over the rehearsal dinner with everyone downstairs.”

  
Natasha looks to Bruce and rolls her eyes. “Fine, we'll be down in 5.” She could actually kill Clint for this interruption.

  
“Good! And if this is happening again.” He points his finger between the two of them. “Then I’ll want to be having words with you.” He says as he points directly at Bruce.

  
“Get out of here Barton!” Natasha yells as she tosses another cushion at him.

  
Clint shuts the door before it hits him and the two burst out laughing once they’re alone again.

“Was that his way of saying he wanted to have the big brother talk with me.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to keep drunk Natasha as in character as possible. Basically based it off of what I'm like when drunk- always want to talk to my ex, just want to cuddle with someone and all forms of clothing feel like a prison. 
> 
> Also, read a fic that paired Steve and Maria Hill together and I actually really like the idea of that pairing, something about it just sort of works.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short and fluffy one for ya.   
> Natasha realises that loving someone is scary and we get to take a trip to the Barton farm.

A month after the wedding Natasha was heading to the farm to see Laura and the kids for the first time since before she went on the run. Between Clint being under house arrest and her being a fugitive from the government, there was no way she could risk travelling to the farm and getting either of them caught.

  
She’s packing the last of her stuff, suitcase on the bed as she folds a pair of jeans. Bruce is sat on the edge of the bed rolling socks and underwear. He sighs heavily “do you have to go for so long?”

  
“It’s been over a year since I’ve seen them.” She says as she picks up another pair of jeans to fold. “The kids have grown so much, and I’ve missed them. Besides, I’ll only be gone for a week max.” She holds her hand out for him to hand over socks and snatches them when he delays.

  
He stands behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzles into her neck. “But a week without you is gonna feel like a lifetime!” he whines.

  
"You're such a sap." Natasha turns around in his arms to face him. “You can always come with me.”

  
“Does Clint still want to have the shovel talk?” Natasha quirks an eyebrow in confusion. “You know, the whole ‘If you ever hurt Natasha again, I’ll show you where I bury the bodies’ talk.”

  
“Yes. But it’s Laura you should worry about” she places a kiss on his nose and breaks away to collect her toiletries from the bathroom.

  
“Hers is a wrath I do not want to face.” He jokes with some truth behind the statement.

  
“Come with me and make them change their minds about you.” She says as she re-enters the room, places her toiletries in the case and zips it up. “It could be fun. There’s a nice trail outback, no prying eyes to see what we get up to.” She teases suggestively.

  
He pulls her into another embrace and nuzzles her neck again, nipping at the tender spot between her neck and collar bone. “We could have fun in her, away from prying eyes.”

  
“Why Dr Banner, are you trying to make me miss my flight?”

  
He pulls away from her neck slightly. “Is it working?”

  
“No.” she picks up her case and heads for the door, swaying her hips purposely as she goes, knowing his eyes will be on her ass. “See you in a week, Doc.”

  
~*~

  
Bruce heads down to the lab so see Tony, who was now fully dedicated to the idea of retirement since his impromptu trip to space. That meant he wasn’t building any new suits and was brimming with free time. Free time that he spent in the lab with Bruce.

  
“Hey, buddy! What are we working on today?” Tony asks with all the excitement of a puppy who’s just seen its owner reach for the leash. The two hadn’t worked together in the lab since they created Ultron and Tony was more than eager to reunite the science bros.

  
“Nothing science related I’m afraid. More of a DIY project to be honest.” That seems to have captured Tony’s interest. “Say I asked for a bigger apartment, how soon do you think that could be arranged?”

  
“How big you thinking? Multi-storey, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, office space, a dining room and a large kitchen area, a living room with a fireplace…”

  
“Woah, Tony! Just an apartment big enough for me and Natasha. I wanna officially ask her to move in with me but…” his hand reaches to scratch the back of his neck.

  
“But you want a big gesture?” Tony finishes for him, Bruce nods at that. “How long’s she gone for? A week? I can have it done by then.”

  
“Great! But I was also hoping that you could just sort of expand her current apartment. Mine’s next to hers so I figured we could just knock a wall down or something. Turn her bedroom into a living a room and my bedroom can be the main room. I don’t think we need a kitchen; we’d just eat with you guys anyways.”

  
“Yeah, I guess that can be done. We should probably get started clearing stuff out of the apartments today and I can get builders in there as early as tomorrow.”

  
With that, they both head to the apartment to get started, eliciting the help of Steve along the way.

  
~*~

  
Natasha arrives at the farm late in the afternoon. Her flight had been delayed and there had been slight trouble getting a car from the rental place. When she arrives Lila and Cooper come rushing out to greet her in their usual fashion; bombarding her with hugs as they attempt to tackle her to the ground. They’d both grown so much since she last saw them. Laura comes out with a grumpy looking Nathaniel on her hip. Natasha reaches for him as the two-year-old squirms a little. 

  
“Oh my god he’s so big!” she says to Laura as she kisses her on the cheek. She puts on a soft voice and turns to talk to Nathaniel. “Hello. I bet you don’t remember me, do you? I’m your aunty Natasha. Yes, I am.” Nathaniel smiles at that then returns to the grumpy look he was sporting earlier. “Christ, he looks just like Clint when he’s grumpy.” She says as she turns back to Laura.

  
“I woke him up from his nap to come and say hi. God, it’s been so long Nat! Clint’s gone to the store to pick up some groceries. Come inside, I’ll put Nate in his playpen and we can crack open a bottle of wine.”

  
They take Nathaniel inside and sit him in a playpen with a few of his toys. Lila and Cooper stay outside to play. Natasha sits at the dining table and Laura soon joins with two wine glasses and a bottle of Pino Noir. She pours them both large glasses and takes a sip from hers.

  
“So, Nat, two years. What’s new?”

  
“Well, my hair’s blonde now.” Natasha deadpans

  
“I’ve noticed. I like it. I hear a certain scientist made a return.” She looks at Natasha expectantly.

  
“I’m thinking of stripping it back.” Natasha doesn’t plan on giving away the gossip that easily. “I miss being a redhead.”

  
“So, I take you two are back together?”

  
“Maybe I’ll dye it a different colour… I could go for something crazy like blue.”

  
“You’ll look stupid with blue hair. Go back to red. Now spill the beans or I’ll have Lila and Cooper sit on you whilst I pile Clint’s dirty socks on your face!”

  
Natasha pretends to be shocked by her words. “I think I’d look great with blue hair.” Laura glares at her and Natasha laughs in response. “Okay, okay. Yes, we’re back together. And things are going great. He’s practically moved into my apartment and I’m really happy. Is that what you want to hear?”

  
“Now was that so hard?” she laughs “So, he explained why he left?”

  
“Yes, we talked about it. We decided to start fresh. Clean slate and all.”

  
“So, do you love him?”

  
Natasha thinks on that for a moment. The answer is yes but it's not as simple as that. “I never believed I was capable of love. Love was for children and I was never a child.” She turns her gaze to look through the window where she can see Cooper and Lila playing. “And then I met Clint and you guys, and I realised I was capable of familial love. But I figured that was it.” She brings her wine glass to her lips but stops short of taking a sip. “I would do anything for him, Laura.” She lifts her gaze to meet the older woman’s. “Like I would do anything for you and Clint and the kids. I would do anything for him. And that scares me.”

  
Laura reaches out to take her hand. “That’s what happens when you fall in love sweetie.”

  
“What if I fuck this up?”

  
“You will. And so will he.” Laura tops up both their wine glasses. “But you forgive each other because that’s what love is. And when he does something that takes a little longer to forgive. Well, that’s what couches are for.”

  
A brief smile flickers across her lips. “I never thought I could have something like this. He makes me feel as happy as I do when I’m here.”

  
“And I take it the sex is pretty good too.”

  
Natasha nearly chokes on her wine as she laughs. “Well, the Doc definitely knows what he’s doing.”

  
Clint walks in just as Natasha says that. “Uh Nat, I thought we were gonna wait ‘til Laura and the kids went to bed before we started exchanging sex stories!” He leans in to kiss Laura on the cheek. “Did I tell you about when I caught the two of them at Tony’s wedding?”

  
Natasha leans over to Clint and punches him in the arm. “I still need to make you pay for that.”

  
Clint mocks injury but continues teasing. “Things were getting very steamy between Nat and the Doc before I opened the door.” He snickers as he dodges another punch from Natasha.

  
Cooper and Lila come bursting through the door. “Aunty Nat, are you gonna read us a bedtime story?” Lila asks as she wraps her arms around Natasha.

  
“Sure thing munchkin. But I think your brother might be too old for one of my bedtime stories.” She says as she picks up Nate from his playpen.

  
“Not if you tell us one of the cool ones like the one about Hong Kong or Argentina,” Cooper exclaims as he rushes up the stairs.

  
“He’s not talking about the Honk Kong or Argentina that I think he’s talking about is he?” Clint asks with a questioning eyebrow.

  
“Of course not.”

  
“Nat?”

  
“Don’t worry, I make sure it’s all child-friendly.” She says with a cunning smile as she carries Nate upstairs.

  
“Those missions are still classified!” He yells up to her.

  
~*~

  
Natasha spends the next few days on the farm playing with the kids, helping Clint with a new project in the barn and helping Laura with a few chores around the house. She loves the domestic feel of being at the Barton home and promises to bring Bruce the next time she visits. She returns to the Avengers facility and Bruce waits to greet her in the parking lot.

  
He wraps his arms around her and kisses her. “I’ve missed you so much! I’ve had to spend the whole week with Tony in the lab!”

  
“You say that as if you don’t usually spend most of your time with Tony in the lab.”

  
“That’s true, but usually I have you to draw me out of the lab.” He takes her hand in his and carries her suitcase as they head back to her apartment. She opens the door and glances around what was her room and has now been changed into a living room. She turns to Bruce looking for answers. “Don’t get mad. But I figured seen as I stay in _your_ apartment all the time, and _my_ apartment is practically always empty. We might as well combine them and make it _our_ apartment.” A small smile grows across Natasha’s face. “I can have Tony put it all back if you want. Well, actually I can’t, but you can just have this apartment and I’ll find a new one. I’m sure Tony has a load of spares.”

  
“Is this your way of saying we should move in together?”

  
“I guess it is.”

  
“Bit presumptive of you, Doc. What if I didn’t like it?”

  
“Well, uh… I-”

  
She cuts him off. “Is there a new bed too?”

  
“Uh, yeah.” His hand reaches to the back of his neck, nervously. “I had Tony put in a California King.”

  
“Hm,” She quirks her eyebrow. “I think maybe we should test the springs on it. In the name of science.”

  
Bruce wraps his arms around her and pulls her close, pressing her body against his. “As a scientist, I would expect nothing less.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a bump in the road to Natasha and Bruce's happiness- that bump is called Yelena Belova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another situation where I'm just taking creative liberties with the balck widow back story. I know Yelena was the next black widow after Natasha (and if the set leaks are anything to go by we'll see her in the new Black Widow solo movie) but that's pretty much all I know about her so now I'm just making stuff up :)

Natasha and Bruce have managed to make their apartment in the Avengers’ facility feel like a little home. His physics books fill two entire bookshelves and she’s bought little trinkets to place on the shelves surrounding them. They’ve got a few framed photos of the two of them and a couple of the whole team all throughout the apartment. For both of them it feels like a practise of how to feel settled in a place and think of it as a home rather than a place to lay low until they have to go on the run again. That they have each other there with them definitely makes that a whole lot easier.

  
They’ve made their own little lives together in the facility; Natasha trains the newer heroes with Steve whilst Bruce works in the lab with Tony whenever he’s around, which is almost always. Natasha occasionally gets called out on missions and the Hulk is very rarely called into action.

  
They’re sat in the kitchen having breakfast with Steve and Tony when a call comes through from Maria Hill. The conversation is short and by the red creeping up Steve’s neck, not 100% about the mission. Steve hangs up the phone and turns to Natasha. “We’ve got eyes on a couple Hydra agents that escaped after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hill wants us to pick them up.”

  
“Ooo I wanna come!” Tony jumps up and down excitedly.

  
“You’re no longer active, Tony.”

  
“And Pepper would kill you and then us if she found out,” Natasha adds

  
“Pleeaase!” He pleads

  
Steve gives him a stern look before saying, “Be ready in 5.” They nod as Steve leaves the kitchen to get prepped for the mission.

  
Natasha gets up and places a kiss on Bruce’s cheek before she heads to the door. Tony leans in to do the same and Bruce swats him away.

  
“Stay safe” Bruce yells as they leave before turning his attention back to his tablet.

  
~*~

  
The agents were easy enough to catch and they have them handcuffed and in the back of the van in less than 30 minutes. They’re about to make their way back to the facility when Natasha spots something from the corner of her eye. She turns and freezes when she spots the blonde woman in the distance before she turns the corner. Natasha follows after her instantly.

  
“Romanoff?” Steve says her name as if to ask what’s wrong, his Captain voice in full force. “Romanoff!”

  
Natasha turns the corner after her and is met with a blow to the stomach before being placed in a chokehold against the wall. She’s eye-to-eye with a ghost from her past. The shock causes Natasha to freeze and she feels her vision start to blacken as the hold on her throat tightens.

  
The woman must begin to recognise her as she loosens her grip. “Natalya Romanova?” the woman whisper right before she’s hit with one of Tony’s blasters.

  
Steve comes running up to steady her as she coughs, taking in shaky breaths. “Romanoff, are you okay?” Natasha nods, not taking her eyes off of the woman who is still under the threat of another hit from Tony’s thrusters. “Who is that?”

  
“Get her in the jet. She’s coming back with us.”

  
They take her back to the Avengers’ facility and place her in an interrogation room. Natasha stands in the observation room with Tony, watching the monitor as Steve attempts to question the woman. She can’t hear what he’s saying but she can tell the woman isn’t cooperating.

  
“Who are you?”

  
“I want to talk to Natalya.” The woman says in a thick Russian.

  
“I’ve already told you; I don’t speak Russian! What’s your name?” Steve yells as he slams his hands on the table. The year they spent on the run wore away at his patience and the polite Captain that he once was had been left behind.

  
The woman remains calm and collected as she repeats her words, still speaking fluent Russian.

  
“For crying out loud! WHO ARE YOU?!” Steve is really starting to lose his cool.

  
The woman looks beyond him at the wall he’s standing in front of as if she can see Natasha through the wall before turning her attention back to Steve. “I want to talk to Natalya Romanova.” Her American accent throws him off a little, a complete transformation from the Russian one she was sporting.

  
Steve leaves the room and joins the others in the observation room, both watching the woman as she sits there staring ahead at the wall. “She won’t talk to me.” she doesn’t take her eyes off of her. “She wants you.”

  
Natasha lets out a small laugh at that “of course she does.”

  
“Who is she?”

  
“Yelena Belova.” Natasha lets out a sigh. “Apparently the only other girl to survive the Red Room. We were trained together- _raised_ together. She was the closest thing I had to a sister. My last orders before I escaped were to kill her. I couldn’t do it. That’s what made me fight against the conditioning. I didn’t have time to get her out as well. I suspected they’d keep her alive. With me out of the picture she was the best they had.”

  
“Well, she won’t talk to anyone but you. You think you can handle it?”

  
Natasha doesn’t dignify his question with an answer, just leaves to enter the interrogation room.

  
She stands across from Yelena, eyeing her as the ghost from her past does the same. Both women maintaining a mask of neutrality.

  
“You’ve aged well, _Сеcтра_.” Yelena is the first to break the silence, eyes still on the woman standing in front of her.

  
“What are you doing in New York?”

  
“Looking for you.”

  
Natasha wasn’t expecting that, though her surprise does nothing to change her neutral expression. “And now you’ve found me. What do you want?”

  
Yelena’s mask faulters momentarily “I need your help. I’m in trouble. I’m not safe here”

  
“What have you done?” Natasha’s eyes narrow.

  
Yelena looks up to the cameras in the corner of the room and repeats her words “I am not safe here.”

  
Natasha releases her gun from her holster, aims it at one of the cameras in the corner without turning around and shoots it out. She shoots out the second camera before hearing Steve over her comms. “Romanoff, what are you doing?” She ignores him and shoots out the other two cameras, still not flinching. She can hear Steve going crazy over her comms. Yelena stares at her and Natasha knows she’s waiting for complete privacy. Natasha takes her earpiece out, puts it on the table and crushes it with the butt of her gun, before turning back to the woman. “You have 30 seconds before they come in here. Why should I help you?”

  
“Because if you don’t, I will not survive the week.” Natasha notices the glaze over Yelena’s eyes and realises there is truth in that. “I need to disappear. I need to get out of here. They can get to me here. And no one knows how to disappear as you do.”

  
That stings a bit. Natasha wanted to take Yelena with her, but she wouldn’t have been able to get them both out alive. She swore she’d go back for her one day but by the time she had the resources the Red Room and everyone in it were gone. The memory still hurts but she has no time to dwell on it. She’s got 15 seconds left and there’s only one other way out of this room. She considers her options and decides to help Yelena is the least she can do. By the time Steve and Tony burst into the room the two women are up in the vents and making their escape. The advantage of breaking out of her own home is that Natasha knows all the right turns to make and they’re in the garage within minutes. The Quinjet would be quicker but they’ll be expecting her to head there.

  
They’re making their way to one of the cars when Bruce pulls into the garage- of course, he’d choose now to return from wherever he had been. He steps out of the car and stops to look between the two women.

  
Natasha turns to Yelena and throws a set of car keys her way “Black SUV, bay 12. Get the engine started.” She turns back to Bruce who is now sporting a look of concern.  
“Nat, what’s going on?”

  
Natasha closes the distance between them and brings a hand up to brush his cheek. “Bruce, I don’t have time to explain. She needs my help and I can’t abandon her. Not again.”

  
“Who is she?”

  
“She…” she looks away momentarily “She’s the closest thing I have to a sister. I’m sorry that I have to leave, but I promise I’ll come back to you.”

  
Bruce grips the hand that rests on his cheek “Let me help you.”

  
“I can’t risk that. I don’t know what I’m getting into and I don’t want to drag you in the middle of this. Whoever’s after her will probably come after me too.”

  
“All the more reason for you to let me help you.”

  
She gives him a soft smile “I could do with a pretty big distraction.”

  
“I think I have something pretty big up my sleeve.” He returns her smile.

  
“I love you. I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can.” She pulls his lips to hers, sealing her promise with a kiss.

  
“I love you too,” Bruce responds as they break apart. "Stay safe."

  
She heads over to the car hearing the familiar roar of the hulk behind her. Yelena looks back with pure fear in her eyes as they pull out of the parking bay and drive out of the garage.

  
They drive for two hours in total silence before Yelena decides to break it. “So, the big green guy… you two are together?”

  
Natasha keeps her gaze on the road. “Don’t”

  
“I would ask if it’s love, but then I recall Natalya Romanova is not capable of such a thing.”

  
“Drop it,” Natasha says through gritted teeth

  
“He seems a little old. And a little angry. Don’t really see the appeal, but I guess we both need something to pass the time.”

  
Natasha pulls the car over and turns off the engine abruptly. She turns to Yelena, anger clear on her face. “Let’s get this one thing clear right now. The topic of Bruce does not come up at all. You mention him, and I leave your ass on the side of the road for whoever it is that’s after you. Do you understand?”

  
Yelena holds her hands up in defeat. “Maybe it is love.”

  
Natasha gives her a look before reaching over to the glove compartment and pulling out a burner phone. She sends Clint an encrypted message then chucks the phone back in the glove compartment and pulls out again.

  
They drive for another hour in pure silence until Natasha pulls into the carpark of a fast food restaurant. She reaches back into the glove compartment and pulls out a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap before reaching over to the back seat to retrieve a black leather jacket, she’s still in her tac suit and she needs to blend in somewhat.

  
She puts on the articles of clothing before turning to Yelena. “Stay in here. Keep your head low.”

  
Natasha heads into the restaurant and sits at a table in the far corner away from the cameras. Clint is sat at the table with several burgers and fries in front of him and two milkshakes. He slides a milkshake over to her “Strawberry. Got you some burgers to go.”

  
“You manage to get what I asked for?”

  
Clint taps a duffle bag on the seat next to him. “What’s going on Nat? I got a call from Steve saying you broke a prisoner out of the facility.”

  
“She’s an old friend.” He looks at her expecting more of an explanation. “From the Red Room.” She adds.

  
“I thought they were all gone.”

  
“So, did I. She needs my help and I kinda owe her one… big time.”

  
“Steve called me in for a reason. He’s not coming after you, but he thinks you’re gonna get yourself killed trying to help her.”

  
Natasha sighs heavily. She’s silent for a few seconds. “I might do. I don’t know what kind of trouble she’s in yet. But I have to help her.”

  
“You might need extra help.”

  
“I might.” Natasha thinks for a moment. “Go to the facility. If I need backup, then I’ll probably need all of you. Once I know what’s going on, I’ll text you.”

  
Natasha stands as Clint hands her the duffle and a bag of food. “Be careful, Nat.”

  
“Take care of the Doc for me.” She says as she leaves the restaurant and heads back to the car.

  
They drive for 30 minutes before they pull over to swap cars. Clint had parked it in an underground carpark and left the keys in the duffle for them. There are travel documents in the glove compartment and the outfits for their disguises in the boot. They drive for another 2 hours before stopping at a motel on the edge of the highway.

  
The motel room is a dingey box room with a double bed in the centre of the room, a desk in the corner and a dresser against the opposite wall. The ensuite bathroom is best described as a closet converted into a wet room with a sink and toilet crammed into it. The mirror above the sink is just about clear enough to make out the blur of the individual standing in front of it. There’s mould creeping up all four walls of the bathroom and is beginning to creep onto the ceiling of the bedroom. The curtains and bed sheets are sporting that drab floral design that seems to be exclusive to motel rooms and the stains on the sheets are more than questionable. The room is a breeding ground for germs and bacteria, but its luxury compared to some of the places Natasha has stayed in before. Hell, compared to the room she had in the Red Room, she imagines she would’ve killed to have a room with a mattress and a window. Although to be honest, she’s killed for much less.

  
Natasha drops the duffle on the desk and sits in the chair, signalling for Yelena to sit on the bed. “You’re gonna tell me what’s going on. Everything. Not a single detail left out.”

  
Yelena takes a deep breath. “After you left, the Red Room didn’t stand for much longer. Madame became intolerant to any disobedience. The punishment for defiance was a bullet in the head. The girls didn’t last long. One night, Madame woke me, took me outside and we stood and watched the building burn to the ground. I thought the screams would never end. But eventually they did, and all that was left was the sound of the flames as they crackled.” Yelena sighs “For a while, it was just Madame and me. It was nice; in its own twisted way. Madame would give me a name, and I would carry out the mission. No beatings, no memory wipes. Just a name and a kill. It was the perfect set up, until Dimitri Mikhailov. He was the son of Sergei Mikhailov. He was a name on my list and I failed my mission.”

She blinks away the tears gathering in the corner of her eye. She turns back to Natasha “Do you love him? The green beast?” She cuts off Natasha’s protest with a raised hand. “You’re lucky to have found him. Love can be a wonderful thing when we find it. But Madame was right; it is for children. Because children are sloppy, and love makes you sloppy. You make enemies in our line of work, and enemies will take the things you love when they can’t take you. You should always remember that Natalya.” She lets the tear fall before she wipes it away. “As you can imagine, Sergei wasn’t too pleased about his son being killed and blamed me for his death.” She exhales heavily. “So, when the entirety of Solntsevskaya Bratva with connections across the globe is out for your blood… I figured who best to help me disappear than Houdini herself.”

  
Natasha sighs heavily, taking in everything Yelena has said: “I was gonna come back for you.”

  
“I’m sure you were Natalya.” The bitterness is clear in her voice “You can make it up to me by helping me disappear before I see the same fate as _Любовь моя_.”

  
Natasha thinks on that for a moment, “They have connections globally?” Yelena gives a slight nod. “Disappearing won’t be enough.”

  
“No, but it may buy me a few more months.”

  
“Yelena- _младшая сестра_ \- I won’t let them get to you. We’ve both taken down regimes before, we can take down this one.”

  
“It’s a suicide mission.”

  
“They always are.” She stands to head into the bathroom. “Sleep now, _младшая сестра_. We shall speak more in the morning.”

  
Natasha cleans up in the bathroom before texting Clint:

  
_The snow in Russia is quite nice this time of year._

  
_Ice Cap doesn’t like snow. Maybe we should bring him along to change his mind._

  
_Maybe in a few days._

  
She sends a quick text to Bruce:

  
_Looks like I’m heading to the motherland. Be home when I can. Love you, Doc._

  
_Be safe. Love you too._

  
She returns to the room to find Yelena already falling asleep on top of the covers. The image is too close a reminder to the years they spent together in the Red Room. Curled up on a thin dirty mattress without a blanket. Nothing but each other to keep them warm. Natasha realises how fortunate she’s been with S.H.I.E.L.D. and even more so with the Avengers.

  
An overwhelming feeling of regret washes over her. Yelena didn’t have that luxury, and Natasha leaving took away the one comfort she had. Natasha shakes off the guilt and curls up on the bed. Yelena turns to curl around her, an imitation of how they used to sleep in the Red Room. Natasha knows the mission is dangerous, but she’s left Yelena once before and she can’t have that on her conscience again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Solntsevskaya Bratva is a real Russina Organised Crime Group and Sergei Mikhailov was the actual leader of them. Bit risky to reference an actual crime group so I do apologise if anyone is offeneded by that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Natasha save Yelena from her enemies?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some violence in this one.

Steve stands in the mission room arms crossed, glaring across the room at Bruce who has just walked in after sleeping off his recent transformation. “Want to explain that recent Hulk-out Dr Banner?”

  
Bruce slumps down on one of the chairs around the large rectangle table. He shrugs his shoulders “I guess I got angry.”

  
“Only, you don’t do that anymore.”

  
“What do you expect? His girlfriend took off with one of her friends from the Red Room.” Clint jumps to Bruce’s defence as he enters the room dumping his bag on the table. He winks at Bruce who returns a smirk. “Of course, he’d be angry!”

  
“I’d be pretty pissed if Pep ran off with a hot childhood friend and didn’t invite me to join,” Tony adds.

  
Steve is clearly not impressed. “Well thanks to your temper tantrum Natasha and Yelena have managed to get away and we don’t know where they’ve gone.”

  
“Russia.” Steve turns his attention back to Clint, waiting for more of an explanation. “Nat texted me. They might need us so we’re gonna head there and wait in case she does.”

  
“So that’s the plan. Just wait and see?”

  
“It’s as good a plan as any. I take it you’ll be joining us, Doc?” Bruce nods. “Good. We leave in 20.”

  
~*~

  
Travelling back to Moscow is always a bittersweet moment for Natasha. She always enjoyed embracing her heritage, but the memories of her childhood tainted her memories of the city. They sit in a small café next to the Moskva river. It’s a quaint little family owned café, run by a babushka that Natasha thinks must be pushing 80. It’s empty enough for them to sit at a table far enough from other people in the café to be able to talk.

  
“You know the layout of the house?” Natasha asks over her coffee.

  
“I’ve been there a few times and know the escape routes. The house is always heavily guarded, and Sergei has two armed guards with him at all times.”

  
“And what about the staff? Does he have groundskeepers, cleaners, cooks?” Yelena nods as she sips from her mug. “Good. Then that’s our way in.”

  
It was pretty easy to infiltrate the cleaning staff, but Natasha’s learnt that’s pretty typical of crime lords. They focus so much on the need for adequate protection that they neglect the need to ensure good house staff. Yelena works as a gardener to keep her away from Sergei and any of the guards that may recognise her. Natasha manages to get a position as one of the maids in Sergei’s private quarters and is staying in the maid’s quarters allowing her to explore the grounds without looking suspicious.

  
Natasha sends Clint a text with the address of the house and instructions.

  
_I’ll keep you updated. If you don’t hear from me each night come in after me._

  
They spend 3 days working as grounds staff, keeping contact between each other minimal to avoid detection. On the third day, Natasha is able to talk to Yelena out in the garden, under the pretence of having a cigarette.

  
“Sergei is leaving for St. Petersburg tomorrow. We take him out tonight.”

  
Yelena nods and carries on with her duties.

  
They wait till nightfall to make their move. There are two guards at Sergei’s bedroom door but they’re too engrossed in their conversation to notice Natasha stalking up to them. By the time they do her knife is already at the throat of one of the guards and she manages to jam another knife into the eye of the other. She catches both bodies before they collapse onto the floor, easing them down to reduce noise. She enters the bedroom just as quietly and reaches over to the body in the bed, knife ready to slice the throat of the man that caused the closest thing she had to a sister to experience such torment.

  
Natasha lifts her blade to the body ready to slit his throat when she feels a sharp prick at the back of her neck. Her blade drops to the floor, hand reaching up to the back of her neck where a slight numbing sensation is beginning to take over. Her hand traces over a foreign object; she pulls it out, vision beginning to blur as she tries to focus on the foreign object which seems to be a tranquillizer dart.

  
She spins to track the source of the dart, vision blackening at the rapid movement. Her eyes fall onto Yelena who is stood at the end of the room aiming a tranquillizer in her direction; a cunning smile forming on her face. Natasha turns back to the person on the bed only to be met with a fist directly to the face. She can hear the crush of her nose and judging by the amount of blood pouring out of it, it’s definitely broken. The force of the punch has her falling back to the ground and the impact of her head hitting the hardwood floors knocks her unconscious.

  
~*~

  
Natasha’s not sure how long she’s out for, it must have been a few hours at least. Her tongue circles her lips, mouth dry from the early signs of dehydration. She can feel the swell of a busted lip and the blood that was streaming from her nose has dried. Her arms are drawn up high above her head and judging by the pain that shoots through her wrists when she tries to rotate them, they’ve been holding up her entire body weight the whole time she’s been out. There are cuffs around her ankles too, cuffing her to the floor. A smart move given her legs is one of her most deadly weapons.

  
She slowly opens her eyes; the pounding in her head intensifies when her eyes try to adjust to the light. It takes a few seconds but eventually her eyes come into focus and they dart around the room, taking in her surroundings. It’s a small room, no windows, one reinforced door which means only one means of escape. Not that she’ll need to escape on her own. The fact that the pain from her broken nose has reduced to dull throb suggests she was out for a while, which means that Clint will be leading the relief team to come and get her soon.

  
Her thoughts of rescue are interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Two stocky men enter through the door, the first man pushing a medical tray with various instruments of torture neatly laid out. Surely they don’t expect that to work. Yelena knows it won’t work, so where’s the point? The second man- taller than the first- has nothing with him but a glass of water which he brings to Natasha’s lips.

  
“ _пить_.” The taller man demands in a thick Russian accent.

  
Natasha seals her lips shut, jerking her head away from the glass. A sadistic smile creeps onto the man’s lips as he angles his head to the side and signals the other man over. Before Natasha has time to comprehend two solid blows are sent to her midsection, forcing the air from her lungs. She gasps trying to force the air back into her lungs, choking as each breath brings with it a sharp burning pain in her chest.

  
“ _пить_.” He repeats.

  
Natasha is nothing if not stubborn and she jerks her head away again, refusing the glass. Her defiance is met with several more blows to the midsection from the shorter man as the taller one watches on, the smile never leaving his face.

  
As she attempts to catch her breath the taller man grips hold of her cheeks; his thumb and forefinger squeezing either side of her face. He tilts her head back and pours the contents of the glass down her throat. He lets go of her once the glass is empty and Natasha spits what water is still in her mouth at the man. It’s undignified but it doesn’t stop her satisfied smile.

  
The man wipes his face with the back of his hand and for the first time, the smile falls from his face. “ _Вы маленькая сука_.” He spits out as he strikes her on the right side of her face.

  
Her eye swells up almost instantly and she can barely see through it. She feels the blow of a blunt object (she’s guessing a bat) hit the small of her back sending a shooting pain up her spine. The second blow brings the object into her view as the bat connects her left side. The audible crack that follows tells that one or two ribs are broken. The following blow to the same spot confirms it.

  
Each breath is short and sharp and as painful as the last. Her vision blackens with each striking blow until eventually, the pain becomes overwhelming and unconsciousness takes her again.

  
When she wakes again it’s with a sudden gasp as a bucket of ice water is thrown over her, soaking through every layer of clothing and making it cling to her battered frame. Her breath comes out in puffs of steam in front of her as she realises she’s been moved to a different room; some kind of chiller perhaps. Judging by her uncontrollable shivers and the blue taint in her fingertips hypothermia is kicking in and she’s got about 20 minutes before she falls unconscious again and 2 hours before she’s dead.

  
She hears someone enter the room from the door behind her. Yelena walks into her view and stands opposite her.

  
“I do apologise for your earlier treatment Natalya. I understand you were not cooperating.” Yelena leans in to tuck a sodden curl behind her ear. “Not unsurprising. You always were a fighter.”

  
Natasha can feel her eyes trying to force themselves shut but fights against the creeping unconsciousness that’s threatening to set in. “Why?” She tries to speak but the chattering of her teeth makes it difficult to even squeeze out her one-word question.

  
Yelena let’s out a sickened laugh. “Why? Really Natalya? Should I even have to explain why?” She shakes her head in slight disbelief of the question. “You took off and left me in that hell hole! You went and made a better life for yourself and didn’t even stop to think about coming back for me!”

  
“T-that’s not…” The slap across her face stops her from getting out the rest of her objection. It wouldn’t usually hurt but given the swelling of her face that one hurt like a bitch!

  
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Natalya. You could’ve come back for me or gotten me out with you, but you chose not to. And now you wonder why I wish you dead? Honestly Natalya.”

  
“M-Ma-Madame?”

  
“She died in the fire with the rest of them. It truly was satisfying to see her rotten corpse. Though I assume, not as satisfying to see yours.”

  
“I l-loved you!”

  
The threat of unconsciousness is too much to fight off now and Natasha can feel her head getting heavier and heavier. The last thing she hears before her eyes closed is Yelena whisper bitterly in her ear.

  
“And that is what made you sloppy.”

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some serious feels here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Non-descript sexual activity.  
> Mild violence.

Tony bursts into the room and spots Yelena standing over Natasha who is unconscious and badly bruised. He blasts Yelena with one of his thrusters before hitting her with a sedative.

  
“I’ve got Red. She’s not looking in a good way.” He says over the comms before turning his attention to Natasha. He shakes her lightly “Come on, Red. Wake up for me. F.R.I.D.A.Y, tell me something!”  
“Her body temp has dropped below 95 F, boss. She’s suffering from severe hypothermia and she’s minutes away from being at risk of permanently losing brain function. She needs to get to a hospital fast!”

  
“Ah, shit!” Her eyes flicker slightly but don’t open. “Stay with me Red, I’m getting you out of here.” He takes off through the doors and down the hall, flying past Steve on the way out of the building and over the Hulk who is angrily destroying parts of the large estate.

  
“Stark! What’s going on?”

  
“They’ve done quite a number on Red. She needs medical attention ASAP!” He says over the comms, too far from Steve to talk directly to him and in too much of a hurry to stop. “Barton, I’ve left you the gift of Yelena Belova in the chiller. Put an arrow in her eye for me!”

  
“Barton, you’re not cleared to do that! We take her in.”

  
“Sorry Cap, what was that?”

  
The audible sound of an arrow being released from its quiver can be heard over the comms.

  
“You are not authorised to kill Yelena!”

  
“Oh, sorry. You should have said that sooner… whoops.” Steve sighs over the comms. “Stark, what hospital are you taking her to?”

  
“American Medical Centre. Someone want to calm down the Big Guy so he can get his ass over there?”

  
Steve eyes the Hulk wearily as he tears apart one of the vehicles parked outside the house.

  
“Uh, I’m thinking we just let him blow off some steam for a while. Probably best Banner doesn’t see Widow ‘til she’s in better shape.”

  
~*~

  
The first time Natasha wakes there are various tubes and wires coming out of her connecting to different machines monitoring her vitals. Her heart rate picks up as a choking feeling comes over her and her eyes dart around the room trying to work out her location.

  
She can hear a muffled sound of someone talking but can’t make out the words. Her hand reaches for the oxygen mask on her face and a curly-headed scientist comes into view. He looks pale and tired, and judging by the dark circles around his eyes he hasn’t slept in a while. Perhaps not at all whilst she’s been out; though she can’t say how long that has been. But her right eye can almost open all the way so it must have been a few days.

  
The sounds of the machines dull out into the background and Bruce’s voice becomes the dominant sound in the room.

  
“Nat. I need you to stay calm.” He removes her hand from her oxygen mask and holds in two of his own. She tries to squeeze his hand but she’s too weak to do anything more than twitch her fingertips. “You’re safe, Nat. You’re in the hospital. There’s a tube down your throat feeding you.” His hand sweeps across her forehead, brushing the hair away from her face. “You need to rest.”

  
Natasha’s body relaxes instantly as if knowing that Bruce is here is all it takes for her to feel calm and to know she really is safe. It’s an unfamiliar feeling for Natasha. She’s never had to rely on anyone else to make her feel at ease and yet somehow this dorky scientist who has wormed his way into her heart makes her know that she’s safe.

  
Her heavy-lidded eyes force themselves shut once again and she feels Bruce place a kiss on her forehead before sleep washes over her once more.

  
~*~

  
The next time she wakes she’s in a different room, a familiar room and after a few seconds, she realises she’s in the Avenger’s medical bay at the facility. The familiarity does well to make her feel more settled but the tube that remains down her throat is beginning to feel rather uncomfortable.

  
Her eyes search the room looking for the familiar face of the doctor she’s come to love. She feels a sense of panic set in when she doesn’t find him and does a double take of the room.

  
The door to her private bathroom opens and out steps the shabby looking scientist. He still looks like the embodiment of exhaustion and his stubble is bordering the point where you would call it a beard. His curls are still damp from his shower and they look greyer than when she last woke. He notices her as soon as he steps out, eyes brightening as he notices she’s awake.

  
“Hey.” His voice is small as he speaks, making his way to sit by her bedside. “Sorry. Clint said I was starting to smell and to be honest, he wasn’t wrong.” Natasha attempts to offer him a smile around the tube but it winds up with her choking on the invasive medical apparatus. “Ah, I'll call the nurse in to get that taken out,” Bruce calls in the nurse and the tube is promptly removed from her throat which she is immensely grateful for.

  
Bruce brings over a cup with a straw to her lips and the nourishing feel of the water easing its way down her throat is one of the best feelings she’s felt in a long time. Perhaps ever. After a few moments of readjusting to the lack of tubing in her throat, she opens her mouth to speak only to be stopped by Bruce’s raised hand.

  
“Don’t try to speak. You need to rest your throat.” He sits back in his chair by her bedside. “It’ll give me some time to get something off my chest.” He runs a hand through his damp curls. “I need- I need you to not do that again.” He sighs deeply. “I know that this is who you are. It’s what you’ve done all your life. But I don’t know if I can play this role. The doting boyfriend that sits by the hospital bed hoping that the love of his life will wake up and still have basic neuro functions.”

  
Something in Natasha’s chest tightens. He’s told her he’s loved her before; they’ve said it to each other many times over in the past few months. But never has he said that she was the love of his life. She always assumed that was Betty and that she was playing second fiddle. She was okay with that though; Bruce was her first love but Natasha wasn’t his. And as he said so many years ago, you never get over your first love. But to hear him say that she is the love of his life, she can’t help the tear that falls from the corner of her eye, didn’t realise it had until it rolls down her cheek.

  
Bruce brushes it away with his thumb, his hand cupping her cheek. Natasha can’t help but lean into his touch. “So I need you to not run off into potentially life-threatening situations without any backup.” His own eyes are glazed over and she can see he’s trying hard not to let his own tears fall. “I need you to promise me that Nat.” And right now she’s sure she would promise him the world just to hear him say that she was the love of his life again.

  
At her nod, she feels Bruce bring his lips to her own before settling back into his chair. Natasha falls asleep watching him, thinking of all the things she wants to say to him.

  
~*~

  
The final time Natasha wakes, Bruce is passed out in his chair; an open book sprawled out on his lap and his glasses abandoned to the top of his head. Clint walks in to see her watching the scientist.

  
“How long you been awake?” Clint asks in hushed tones.

  
“Couple of minutes.” Her voice is hoarse and her throat aches as she speaks. “Yelena?”

  
“Dead.”

  
She feels something in her chest tense at that. She knows she shouldn’t mourn the death of someone that tried to kill her. Of someone that lured her out of the comforts of this new life, she was building with Bruce only to bring her within an inch of her life. But she can’t help feeling as though she’s lost a sister. As though she’s lost the only thing that connects her to her past; her childhood. Maybe that’s a good thing. A chance for her to forget about all the torment that was her upbringing in Russia. A chance to start afresh knowing that none of the demons from her past are out there waiting to haunt her. But right now it doesn’t feel like that. Right now it feels as though she’s lost the only family she had left.

  
She nods, keeping her expression neutral and her innermost thoughts to herself. “How long was I out?”

  
“A week a first. Then only a few days at a time. You really had us worried.”

  
“You weren’t worried.” She gives him a small smile. “I’ve been through worse.” 

  
He chuckles slightly, more visible than it is audible. “True, but he was definitely worried” He nods over to Bruce. “Had to practically force feed him and drag him into the shower. I’m pretty sure this is the most he’s slept in the past two weeks. Maybe we should put him out of his misery.”

  
She nods, and Clint turns to leave the room, tapping Bruce on the shoulder as he leaves. Bruce startles awake, knocking the book to the floor. He bends to pick it up without even looking at Natasha.

  
“Book that boring, Doc?”

  
“You’re awake! How are you feeling?” He moves one hand to her forehead to check her temperature. “Do you need anything? Water?”

  
“Water, food, and probably a shower.” She says as she shuffles to sit up.

  
Bruce adjusts the pillows behind her back then heads to the sink and fills a plastic cup with water before picking up a straw and hands it to Natasha. “I’ll go get you something to eat.”

  
“No.” Natasha pulls the sheets off of her. “I’ve been in this bed for too long. I need to walk around.”

  
She swivels her body to hang her legs off the side of the bed. Bruce adjusts himself to act as a support and she latches on to his side. She doesn’t need the help; is more than capable of walking on her own, even if she’s been immobile for two weeks. She’s done a lot more after being immobile for a lot longer. She’s not latching onto him because she needs physical support. She does so for the symbolic meaning of the move- she trusts him enough to lean on when she’s feeling weak and trusts that he won’t exploit that weakness.

  
“You should be taking it easy.”

  
“Bruce, you know this isn’t my first rodeo.” She says as they shuffle to the elevator. “Shower first, then food.”

  
“Are you gonna be able to stand by yourself for that long?”

  
“Might need you to help me out, Doc.” She says with a smirk on her face as she looks at him from the corner of her eye.

  
They head up to their apartment and Natasha makes a beeline for the bathroom. Bruce undoes the ties of her hospital gown and she steps out of her underwear bundling both up and dumping them into the bin. Bruce starts the shower and waits until it’s at a good temperature before he helps Natasha in and strips off his own clothes to join her. He rubs shampoo into her hair and messages her scalp in circular motions. The feel is soothing and she’s overcome with the desire to just feel him. To know that this is real and that he’s really here and really hers. She leans back into him as his arms circle her waist and her head drops back onto his shoulders.

  
“Do you want to talk about it?”

  
“No… Yes.” She turns around to face him, eyes glazed over. “I don’t know.”

  
Bruce notices the tears forming. He brings a hand to her chin and angles her head to look up at him. “You don’t have to.” He places a soft kiss on her lips.

  
“She was family. In its own twisted way.”

  
“I get that.” He smooths her hair away from her face. “You’re allowed to mourn her you know. I mourned my father when he died. Even after everything he did to me… to my mother.”

  
She tiptoes up to capture his lips to hers. “But you’re my family now.” Because he is. And so is Clint and Laura and the kids. And Steve and even Thor and Tony. They’re all the family that she’s chosen and they all make up the things that she can’t stand to lose. They’re all people that centre her and make her feel like something more than just a weapon. And at the very heart of it is this dorky scientist with intense anger issues that makes her feel safe and loved in a world where those things used to be foreign to her.

  
The realisation of what he’s done for her is overwhelming and she crashes her lips to his, overcome by the desire to feel him completely. She kisses him deeply as her hands lock behind his neck, burying themselves in the curls at his nape. His hands rest just below her ass and she hoists herself up, legs wrapping tightly around his waist. Bruce carries her to the bed, not caring about the shower that’s still running or their damp bodies on the fresh sheets.

  
She feels at home in his arms, with her body wrapped around him and him deep inside of her. The feeling of being loved is still such a foreign thing to her. Domesticity a complex concept that she’s not sure she’s fully able to understand and is certain that she’s not qualified to attempt. But she gets to try her hand at it with Bruce, in their little bubble where neither of them really know what they’re doing but they’re doing it together so it doesn’t matter. It’s this thought that brings her over the edge. Knowing that they’re no longer just fucking or dating, that they’re actually building a life together; building a home.

  
They detangle from each other and Bruce heads to the bathroom to collect his discarded clothes to redressed and turn off the water. He walks over to the wardrobe and picks out his Culver University sweater that is basically hers now, the final symbol of home.

  
Natasha snuggles into the cocoon of his arms and presses herslef into his body “I love you.” She places a small kiss on his cheek before resting her head on his chest.

  
“I love you too.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea how much time has passed between the events in this chapter and the pervious one. My timeline is as warped as the actual MCU timeline so I figured you guys can decide how much time you want to have passed (maybe a few months).

Bruce is woken abruptly out of his sleep by the feel of Natasha rushing out of bed. She’s usually quite stealthy when she wakes, making sure not to wake Bruce up when she gets up for her morning run. He opens his eyes to see her rushing to the bathroom. He’s slightly alarmed by the sudden movement as he rolls over and dives deeper into the pillows as he tries to fall back asleep. He’s about to drift off again when he hears what sounds like Natasha throwing up in the bathroom. He jolts awake, listening attentively to see if he heard correctly.

  
Upon confirmation of his lover’s actions, he rushes over to the bathroom to see Natasha huddled over gripping the toilet as she pukes up the contents of her stomach. He crouches at her side and pulls back her hair to avoid getting any sick in it.His voice is full of sympathy when he asks “Hey, you alright?” A pointless question with an obvious answer that would usually be met with some kind of sarcastic comment but instead Natasha’s response is another lurch forward as she throws up again and Bruce is left with nothing to do but to rub her back in a circular motion. Natasha throws up twice more before she’s done. She stands, and heads to the sink, cupping her hands under the tap and swirling the water around her mouth clearing out the remaining chunks of regurgitated food.   
“You feeling any better?”

  
She nods slightly, swirling more water around her mouth and spitting it out into the sink. “Yeah. I just woke up feeling a little nauseous.”

  
“Think you might be coming down with something?”

  
“Nah, it’s probably nothing. I’ll be fine after some breakfast.”

  
They walk to the communal kitchen where Steve is hard at work over the stove. He spins around to greet them, spatula in hand. “Morning guys! I’m making pancakes. Want some?”

  
They both nod and Natasha reaches for the coffee pot. “You’re looking very spry this morning.” She says as she pours herself a mug of coffee. She takes a sniff and decides it’s possibly not the best thing right now, given that her stomach is still feeling a little fragile. Bruce notices her reaction to the coffee and pours her a glass of orange juice.

  
“It’s Maria’s birthday today and I’ve planned the whole day out.” He turns back to the stove to flip a pancake. “Walk around central park, catch a picture.” He turns to them again, this time pointing the spatula at the couple accusatorily, “You two are coming for dinner, right?”

  
“Of course! Wouldn’t miss it!” Bruce says as he pulls whipped cream and strawberries from the fridge.

  
“Great” Steve’s attention turns back to the stove. “Tony’s hired a fancy chef and everything. A nice quiet dinner to end the perfect day.”

  
Natasha quirks an eyebrow at Bruce. He can tell by the smile forcing its way across her lips that she’s planning to tease. “Well, it seems someone’s trying to get laid tonight.” At Steve’s choked response she continues, “will there be fondue on the menu?”

  
The red in Steve’s cheeks means her goal has been achieved. “I. Uh. We’ve… well.” He scoops the last pancake onto the plate. “Oh look. Pancakes are ready!”

  
He slides two plates stacked with pancakes in front of the couple. Natasha takes one sniff of the pancakes before a wave of nausea hits her. Her hand immediately covers her mouth as she rushes over to the rubbish bin, knocking over the stool she was sat on. She curls around the bin, throwing up whatever is left in her stomach.

  
“Nat?” Bruce calls as she rushes off.

  
“Is my cooking that bad?” Steve looks concerned for the redhead, worried that he may be the cause of her illness.

  
Bruce shakes his head “she was like that when we woke up.” Natasha straightens up looking more than a little pale, using the back of her hand to wipe excess liquid from the corners of her mouth.

  
“You alright, Natasha?” Steve asks concern clear in his voice.

  
“If you consider puking up stomach bile as being okay, then sure.” She finishes the last of her orange juice and eyes the pancakes in disgust. “I think I’m gonna head to bed, try and sleep whatever this is off before tonight.”

  
“Okay. I’ll run to the store and pick up some chicken soup ingredients and ginger ale.” Bruce says standing to get ready go.

  
Natasha places a hand on his shoulder to push him back down into his seat. “Finish your breakfast first. I’m in no hurry to try eating again.” She places a kiss on his cheek and heads back to their apartment.

  
~*~

  
Steve really had gone all out for Maria’s birthday. The dining room had been professionally decorated and the room was only lit by candlelight. Bruce wore a black suit with a white open-collar shirt and Natasha wore a simple black cocktail dress. Steve and Maria were a little more dressed up for the occasion. Steve was wearing a full tux and Maria was wearing a flowing pink dress that made her look like something out of a fairy tale.

  
They were immediately seated at the dining table and glasses of champagne were being poured. Natasha shook her head when Bruce offered to pour her a glass. She hadn’t thrown up since that morning but didn’t want to risk changing that by adding alcohol to the mix.

  
“You not drinking, Natasha?” Pepper asks from across the table.

  
“Wasn’t feeling 100% this morning. Don’t want to upset my stomach again. This dress is too nice to ruin.” She deadpans.

  
“Red’s not drinking. Must be the plague!” Tony’s sarcastic joke is met with sniggers from Sam, Rhodes, and Wanda and a disapproving expression from the rest of the table.

  
“Maybe you should see a doctor or something” Steve chimes in.

  
“I’ve got my own personal doc,” Natasha says as she nudges Bruce’s side. “He’ll take care of me.”

  
“Always,” Bruce says as he kisses her softly on the lips.

  
Tony imitates the sound of someone throwing up. “Please, none of that at the dinner table. Some of us would like to be able to hold down our mains. Speaking of which…”

  
A sea of waiters bring out plates with silver covers and place them in front of each person at the table. The smell gives Natasha that same queasy feeling she experienced this morning, but she manages to suppress the urge to be sick. That is until the dish covers are removed revealing a large rib eye steak topped with scallops and prawns. She hasn’t got time to get to a bin or a bathroom, so she reaches for the champagne ice-bucket in front of her and proceeds to throw up for the third time today.

  
“Yeah, you should definitely see a doctor,” Tony says as he looks over in disgust and is met with an elbow in the side from Pepper in an attempt to get him to knock it off.

  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. book an appoint for Ms Romanoff with Dr Hayes.” She looks over to Bruce who is rubbing Natasha’s back as she coughs up the last of her puke. “She can be trusted. Tony and I have been seeing her for years.”

  
“Thanks, Pepper,” Bruce says as he tucks a loose curl behind Natasha’s ear.

  
Natasha pushes back from the table, holding the bucket containing her now freezing vomit. “Sorry guys.” She looks up sheepishly. “I’m gonna head back to the apartment before I ruin any more bottles of champagne.” She taps Bruce’s shoulder indicating that he should stay. “Happy birthday Maria.” She says with a faint smile before she leaves the dining room.

  
~*~

  
The Doctor’s Surgery is a small sleek private surgery in an office building. Bruce and Natasha sit in the rather empty waiting room. The doctor had taken various samples and done some preliminary tests before telling them to wait outside. Bruce is tightly gripping onto Natasha’s hand, fingers intertwined. He may not have been too worried before, but she had thrown up again today and now he was starting to get concerned.

  
“It’s probably nothing,” Natasha says, attempting to ease his concerns. “I don’t think I’ve been poisoned lately. Probably just a stomach bug.”

  
“You don’t get stomach bugs.” He says as he brings their hands up to his lips and kisses her knuckles.

  
The young-looking doctor calls them back into the room waiting for Natasha to sit on the exam table before she proceeds.

  
“So, Ms Romanoff. You say you’ve been feeling nauseous?” Natasha nods in response. “And how long has that been going on for?”

  
“The past two days. I wouldn’t usually come in for something like this, but _somebody_ worries.” She says angling her head towards Bruce.

  
“Can you blame me? You never throw up.” Bruce defends.

  
“It’s a good thing you did come in. I’ve got the results of your blood test back and I think I may have found the cause of your sudden nausea.” Natasha nods towards the doctor for her to continue. “When was your last period?”

  
“Uh, I can’t remember. A few months ago maybe. But that’s normal, I’ve never been regular. Why?”

  
“Well, the increased levels of oestrogen in your blood indicate that you might be pregnant.”

  
Natasha turns to look at Bruce who is staring back at her. They’re silent for a while before they both burst into a fit of laughter.

  
“I think you may have to go back to the drawing board with that one,” Bruce says through his laughter.

  
“Yeah, I don’t know if you’ve read our files doc. But we’re probably the two least likely people to be having a baby.” Natasha says as her laughter dies down.

  
The doctor waits for their laughter to cease completely before continuing. “I have read your files and as unlikely as it is, it’s what the results are telling me.”

  
“Doc, we’re both sterile. It’s just not possible.” Natasha says with an air of frustration. Kids were something both Bruce and Natasha wanted but knew they couldn’t have and had come to terms with; so to dangle the forbidden fruit in their reach just to yank it away from them last minute was frankly cruel.

  
“Still I’d like to run some more tests just to rule it out completely. If you could lie back on the examination table and lift your top for me.”

  
“It’s a waste of time but if you insist.” Natasha does as she’s told and undoes the buttons on her jeans to expose more of her stomach as she'd seen Laura do on the few occassions she had accompanied her to one of her ultrasounds. She turns to Bruce “never thought I’d be doing this.”

  
“We’ll get this over with then we can find the real issue.” He says as he grips her hand. “Besides, Tony’s paying for this visit so at least we don’t have to worry about costs.”

  
“Okay Ms Romanoff, this may feel a little cold.” The doctor squeezes a tube of ultrasonic gel on Natasha’s stomach. She moves the apparatus around her stomach a few times until an image comes up on the screen. “Just as I thought.” She points towards the image on the monitor “that there is your amniotic sac. And that small thing there is the foetus. From the looks of it, you’re about 6 weeks along.” She turns back to look at the couple who are sat wide-eyed and staring at the monitor.

  
The room is silent for a long time until the doctor flicks a switch on the monitor and the sound of a heartbeat fills the room. A strong, healthy heartbeat that is coming from the life that is growing in a place where she believed nothing would ever grow. Natasha's eyes glaze over and she doesn’t bother to hide the tears that are threatening to fall.

  
Natasha is the first of the three to break the silence. “But… That’s not… I was sterilised. That’s not possible.”

  
“I understand you had a tubal ligation some years ago, yes?” At Natasha’s hesitant nod the doctor continues. “Yes well, when the procedure is done at a young age there is a possibility for the fallopian tubes to grow back together enabling you to conceive. Though rare, it occurs in 5% of cases when the procedure is carried out in women under the age of 28. I’ll arrange an appointment with the OB/GYN, Dr Shaw, for you as I’m sure she’ll want to run some tests. But for now, congratulations to the two of you. Now I just have…”

  
Natasha feels Bruce let go of her hand as he stands abruptly. “That doesn’t explain how I have managed to get someone pregnant! A guy doesn’t get exposed to that much radiation and remain fertile!” He’s grabbing at the hairs at the back of his neck, eyes shifting frantically between Natasha, the doctor and the monitor.

  
“What are you implying Bruce?” her voice raises a little to match his tone.

  
“I’m not implying anything. I’m just pointing out the facts!” His eyes are now fixed firmly on Natasha. “I cannot have children! That is a fact!”

  
“Right well there’s another fact for you Bruce.” She points to the image on the screen. “That. That is a fact!” her voice raises a few more decibels. “Because by some twist of fate or trick of the universe or whatever the fuck you want to call this situation, this is happening. It’s already happened.” 

  
Bruce stares at her blankly, not saying a word. She can see his brain ticking away behind his eyes; trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle that doesn’t make sense to anyone. She tries to say something more but she’s cut off by Bruce’s abrupt turn out of the room. She can feel the flood of tears about to fall and she squeezes her eyes tight to stop them in their tracks, wiping away the wet streaks on her cheeks. She hasn’t got time to worry about Bruce right now. The life that’s somehow found a way to grow inside of her is all that she can worry about.

At her nod, the doctor clears her throat and continues her exam. “The baby’s heartbeat sounds healthy and the-”

  
“I am so sorry! I’m such a fucking idiot!” Bruce bursts through the door, eyes glazed over the with tears he’s trying so hard to hold back. “I don’t know why I did that. I don’t know how and frankly I don’t give a fuck because we’re having a baby.” And to hear him say those words make it feel all the more real and she can’t help the new flow of tears that fall. “I love you so much.” He says as he places a small kiss on the top of her head before taking her hand in his and resuming his position by the exam table.

  
Bruce doesn’t let go of her hand throughout the entire examination, squeezing tighter with every mention of their baby. Natasha notes the way his breath hitches with every stage of development that the doctor explains and the way his eyes glaze over when she tells them the due date. They take the name of the recommended OB/GYN and arrange an appointment for the following week- that should be plenty of time for Natasha to vet the new doctor.

  
Natasha is silent on the drive home as she watches the scenes of New York city whiz past her in a blur. One arm sits across her abdomen as her mind processes. Of all the thoughts that run through her mind, she can’t help but think this is the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to the Red Room. They tried to make her into a merciless assassin and she became a hero; even if she doesn’t quite feel the title is befitting of her. They told her she had no place in the world and yet she’s found one with the Avengers. They tried to make her incapable of love and she found it; first with Clint and his family, then with Bruce. And they tried to take away her ability to bring life into the world and yet by some miracle that’s what she’ll be doing in 7 ½ months.

  
7 ½ months. Her breath hitches as the realisation hits her and she feels Bruce’s hand squeeze her thigh. She has to stop herself from breaking the intruding hand, the instinctual need to protect taking over momentarily; something she hasn’t felt the instinct to do around Bruce in years. She’d been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn’t realised they’d pulled up at the facility.

  
“Hey. You okay?” Bruce’s voice breaks through the haze of her thoughts and she realises the thing that’s weighing on her the most. She lifts her gaze to meet his eyes.

  
Her voice is pitched low and contemplative. “If you want an out Bruce, then this is it. This is your out.” Bruce starts to speak but she cuts him off as she continues. “I can do this on my own if I need to. I really don’t want to, but I can.”

  
“Of course I’m in Natasha. I’m so, completely 100% in.”

  
“Then I need to know that you’re not going to walk out on me- on _us_ ” she amends as her arm tightens around her abdomen “again. Because I’d rather not get my hopes up thinking that you’re going to stick around, only to have you leave again.”

  
Bruce’s arm snakes around her stomach encasing her hand in his own. “I will never leave you; either of you again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here me out, I know Natasha can't get pregnant and I know fics with pregnant Natasha turn a lot of people away BUT this is suppsoed to be a happy(ish) fic for them so I figured I'd do some research and see if it can be possible and assuming it was a tubal ligation then all those stats are correct- far fetched, but possible. Also, I figured Bruce heals everytime he hulks out so it may be possible that the transformation process heals everything. I dunno, I just want these guys to be happy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another fluffy one for you as Bruce and Natasha enjoy a nice lunch.

Bruce has grown used to waking up to Natasha each morning. Their mornings followed a certain routine that marked the start of what would usually be a chaotic day and he’d grown to appreciate the comfort of their routine. He’d wake up in a slight daze, eyes reluctant to open until they fell upon Natasha who would be sat at the end of the bed, skin flushed and slightly sticky with dried sweat from her morning run with Steve. Bruce would prop himself up on his elbows blinking as he takes in the sight of her. “ _Come back to bed._ ” He’d plead, voice still groggy from the remaining tiredness.

_“I’m sweaty.”_

“ _I like it when you’re sweaty.”_ He’d smirk as she begins to strip off her sweat ridden clothing, leaving them in a trail as she heads towards their ensuite bathroom.

_“I need to shower.”_ She'd stand at the bathroom door, sporting the infamous Black Widow smirk that has seduced many marks. “ _I could do with some company though_.” She'd leave the door open as an invitation for him to enter.

He would jump out of bed shucking off his pyjama bottoms to join her in the shower. After 30 minutes or so of fooling around (and running up Tony’s water bill because what’s the point of living in a facility funded by a billionaire if you have to worry about water usage) they set about their days of training and experimenting respectively.

Though since the trip to the doctor’s office 2 weeks ago their morning routines have changed. Natasha’s morning sickness means she’s had to cut out the early morning runs with Steve; which Bruce is happy about seen as he doesn’t want her to overexert herself. It also means that Bruce wakes up each morning with an arm wrapped around Natasha’s abdomen, hand absentmindedly stroking her stomach. He pulls her closer and snuggles behind her enjoying the feel of waking up together. Until her nausea gets too much to bear and she’s rushing to the bathroom, kickstarting the day into motion.

So, Bruce is surprised when he wakes up to find himself alone in their bed. His first thought is that Natasha’s morning sickness must be pretty bad this morning but after checking both bathrooms he realises she’s not in the apartment at all. He suspects she’s in the gym but saves himself the effort of a trip and consults the AI instead. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., where’s Natasha?”

“Ms Romanoff is in the common area kitchen, Dr Banner.”

Bruce nods as if he can actually see the small Irish woman that comes to mind whenever he hears the AI speak. He pulls a t-shirt from the draw over his head and makes his way to the kitchen area. He walks in to see Natasha still in her pyjama shorts and Bruce’s Culver University sweater. He really should order a new one seen as he’s probably never getting that one back from her. She’s stood over a mixing bowl swaying along to whatever’s playing in her headphones that are connected to the iPod on the counter.

He stops near the doorway, staring at her move as she idly pretends to have not noticed his presence. Of course, she knew he was there from the moment he entered the kitchen. Even if two of her senses are cut off, she would’ve noticed the shift in the air and felt the eyes on her back. Still, she keeps up the facade and pretends to startle a little as he wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her cheek before settling his head in the crook of her neck. Natasha reaches up to pull out one of the earplugs and then settles one hand on his cheek and the other over the hands that now rest on her abdomen, a position they’ve become accustomed to.

Bruce inhales deeply, taking in the new scent that seems to come with the pregnancy. It’s a blend of the soft lavender of her shampoo, the milky scent of her skin and the underlying smell of something new and fresh that he can’t quite place.

Natasha resumes her mixing as Bruce’s hands remain resting on her stomach. “Morning.”

“What are you doing up?” he’s reluctant to let go of her. He’s never been one to be possessive but since they found out about the pregnancy, he’s found himself needing to be near her at all times. Needing to protect her. Which he knows is absurd because she is, after all, the Black Widow and she’s perfectly capable of protecting herself. Even with a tiny life growing inside of her. But it’s a life that he’s helped create and he can’t help but feel the need to protect the two individuals that mean the most to him. He forces himself to pull away to fill two glasses with orange juice and sets them down on the island. “Morning sickness?”

“Mmhm” Natasha scoops the mixture into muffin tins and places the tray in the oven as she pulls out another tray that has just finished cooking. She seems to have made cupcakes and Bruce eyes them suspiciously waiting for an explanation. She picks two up and brings them over to where he is now sat at the island. “Laura used to make these when her morning sickness was bad. Banana oat muffins. Figured I’d make up a load and just freeze ‘em.”

“How very efficient” Bruce breaks off a piece of the muffin to taste before making an approving sound “Got any plans for the day?”

Natasha shakes her head swallowing her last bite of the muffin before she talks. “I was supposed to be meeting with Maria to discuss taking over the language division.” Despite Natasha insisting she’d be fine Bruce didn’t like the thought of her having to spar when training the newer Avengers. Natasha, of course, rolled her eyes when he said this, even if she knew he was right. They’d come to a compromise and decided she would speak to Maria about taking over the language’s division in the new Avengers training programme teaching languages to the new recruits. “But she’s been whisked away by Steve.” Some kind of romantic getaway that she’s sure Steve was telling her about a few weeks ago but must have forgotten given all the excitement that she and Bruce have experienced since that trip to the doctor’s office. “What did you have in mind, Doc?”

“Well, I figured some fresh air and exercise would be good. So maybe we can head to central park, maybe get some lunch whilst we’re at it.

“Sure.”

“I need to set up some simulations in the lab before we go. Shall we head off around 11?”

Natasha nods as she takes the last batch of muffins out of the oven and places them on the cooling rack with a note:

_Romanoff’s muffins._   
_Touch at your own risk!_   
_(I’m looking at you, Wilson!)_

The weather is mild for a late September morning, not cold but the breeze makes Natasha grateful that she chose to fling on a light jacket. They walk through the park talking about Bruce’s latest thesis and Steve’s romantic trip with Maria. They stop at Bethesda terrace and sit next to the fountain, enjoying the feel of the sprays of water on their backs. They’re sat in view of a young couple and watch the happy family enjoying a trip to the park. The wife is sat with a buggy keeping a small baby occupied while the husband chases after a small girl no older than 3 who is intent on scaring away every pigeon in sight.

Natasha smiles intently as Bruce’s arms circle around her waist and settles his hands on her stomach. “That’ll be us soon.” She covers his hands with her own and settles against his shoulder to watch what could very well be their future playing out in front of them.

“They look so happy.” He lightly kisses her forehead. “Do you think we’ll be that happy?”

“I hope so.” She tightens her grip on his hands. “This, _us_ , it’s everything I never imagined myself having. Love. A future.” She lets out a small laugh. “Least of all a family. I never thought I’d be capable of having any of this. And now…” there’s a catch in her throat and she turns to look up at Bruce. “what if I mess this up? How am I supposed to be a good mother when the closest I’ve ever come to family was the Madame and Yelena, both who have tried to kill me.”

“Hey” he brings his hands up to cup her cheeks. “Our child is going to have the most loving family because we know exactly what not to do and how not to be.” And a part of him is saying it to reassure her, the other part is saying it to reassure himself. Because he can’t believe that he will be like his own father. Refuses to believe it. His own father was everything he’s determined never to be and he’d be damned if he’s destined to end up like him. “I’m not worried about what kind of mother you’ll be because I have no doubt that you’ll be amazing at it.” He kisses her softly and brushes away the tear threatening to fall at the corner of her eye.

Her stomach rumbles loudly and that successfully manages to lighten the mood as they both chuckle at the sound. “I swear I don’t even realise I’m hungry until this little one tells me I am.”

“Come on, I know a great little diner about five minutes from here. We can grab some lunch before we head back.”

The diner is a small 50’s themed place with retro décor and even a jukebox in the corner. It seems like the type of place that would have regulars who have been going there for generations. The booths are quite private, but the place manages to maintain a social vibe. Bruce orders a toasted Reuben. It’s his go-to order from any American diner and this place seems to have the perfect amount of horseradish. He manages to enjoy a bite before he notices Natasha’s lack of enthusiasm towards her own ham and swiss omelette and is eyeing his sandwich. He lets out a small sigh, swaps the two plates and she instantly tucks into the sandwich. They order fries to share and both go for strawberry milkshakes.

Bruce reaches for a couple fries and dips them into his milkshake before popping them into his mouth.

“Uh Doc, aren’t I supposed to be the one having all the weird cravings?”

“This is not a craving.” He picks up another chip and dips it in the milkshake again, holding it out between the two of them. “This is some of the finest cuisines you’ll come across! The perfect blend of sweet and salty!” He bites down on the chip, his face the embodiment of pure joy whilst she looks on in disgust. “Try it”

Natasha quirks an eyebrow at him before hesitantly following his example. “Hm, it’s just like dipping buttered toast into hot chocolate.” It’s Bruce’s turn to offer a look of disgust. Natasha shrugs before explaining “It’s a French thing.”

They order a slice of pumpkin pie to share which really just ends up as Natasha eating pumpkin pie. Bruce just watches content with the fact that him not getting much pie is a result of her carrying his child. If that’s the kind of compromises he has to make, he can live with that.

“I know it’s a little early, but I’ve been thinking about names.”

Natasha swallows the last bite of pie. “Same. I’ve got loads of boys names, but I can’t think of any for a girl.”

Bruce lets out a small laugh “funny that. I can only think of girls names.”

“Maybe we really are good together.” She teases. “My favourite is Nikolai. Nikolai Clinton Romanoff Banner.”

“Not Romanoff as the last name?” He asks rather sheepishly.

“Bruce, it’s your kid.” She says matter-of-factly. “They’re gonna have your name.”

“I like it. Niko for short or Nicky.” Bruce smiles a big toothy grin. “I was thinking Anastasia Rebecca Romanoff Banner, for a girl.”

“You wouldn’t want Rebecca as her first name?”

He shakes his head. “I hate the thought of people calling her Becky.” It was one of his mother’s pet peeves and it seems to have stuck with him. “Clint’s gonna be chuffed to know you’re naming our kid after him.”

“If it weren’t for him, the 3 of us wouldn’t be here right now. If it was anyone else sent to kill me, I would’ve been dead.” It’s entirely true and she knows the more she gains in life the more she has to thank Clint for.

“How did Clint react when you told him?”

“I haven’t told him yet.” Bruce’s eyebrows ruffle in confusion. “I thought we’d want to tell people together… have you told anyone?”

“I was gonna tell Tony, but he’s just got back from Sydney and has been pretty jetlagged. Didn’t think it was the kind of news to share over text.”

“So, we’re the only people that know?” Natasha likes the thought of keeping it a secret. Something for the two of them to enjoy together whilst the reality of it all settles in. “Let’s not tell anyone just yet. Let’s just enjoy it for a while before all the excitement begins.”

“How long do you think we can keep it a secret for?” Bruce chuckles lightly “You’ll start to show the signs soon and it won’t be long ‘til you start putting pickles on everything.”

Natasha’s face slips into the neutral mask of a master spy. “You seem to forget that keeping secrets has been my job for the past 15 years.” Her voice lightens “also, I’m Russian. Putting pickles on everything is perfectly normal. Although I’m not sure how much longer I can keep with the excuse I told Steve.”

“What did you tell him?”

She gives him a mischievous grin as she sips the rest of her milkshake “I just told him you were quite generous early in the mornings.” Bruce chokes slightly on his milkshake. “told him a girl has needs.”

“Please tell me you’re kidding.”

She shakes her head “Worked a treat. He was too embarrassed to pry any further.” They both laugh at the thought of Steve’s reddening face, far too old fashioned to have an open discussion about sex among consenting adults.

“I guess if you keep wearing my sweaters, you can hide any physical changes for at least a few months. It’d be pretty funny to walk into the kitchen one day with a baby in my arms.” That gets a snort from Natasha. “How long do you want to wait for?”

“I dunno. Maybe just…” She reaches for his hand over the table, fingers intertwining. “These past two weeks have been the happiest I’ve ever felt, and I just want to keep that between me and you. For now, at least. We’ll tell everyone when we’re ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So dipping buttered toast into hot chocolate is an actual thing that a lot of French people do - according to my french sources at least- would reccommend you give it a try.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will the rest of the team take Bruce and Natasha's big news?

2 months. They were able to keep the pregnancy secret for 2 months before they had to tell people. Which for Bruce was much longer than he thought they’d last. For Natasha, it was a slight blow to her pride. She really did think she could keep the secret for much longer than that. She wasn’t planning on having to tell anyone until at least the third trimester. But then again, she hadn’t accounted for the hormonal imbalance or Clint’s perceptiveness. Truth be told, she hadn’t accounted for Clint being around at all.

  
Clint had come to stay at the facility for a few days whilst Laura and the kids went to visit her parents. He tends to avoid those trips seen as Laura’s dad hasn’t taken too well to Clint since the whole Loki mind control thing at the battle of New York.

Natasha’s noticed that Clint doesn’t seem to get along with any of the in-laws and it makes her grateful in a twisted sort of way that she doesn’t have to deal with in-laws herself. She doesn’t think parents would take well to an ex-assassin-super-spy. Not that she and Bruce were planning on getting married anytime soon. Neither of them is religious nor does she see the need to reaffirm their relationship through an institution she doesn’t really believe in.  
Clint hadn’t said he was coming to the facility. Just arrived and sent her a text that morning.

  
_In the gym. Come join._

  
Bruce wasn’t too keen on her joining Clint in the gym. The two of them tended to treat training as a full-on fight but Natasha insisted they’d stick to cardio. She flung on a pair of leggings and one of Bruce’s t-shirts over her sports bra. Her stomach was starting to round into a small bump but Bruce’s t-shirt just about does the trick of hiding it.

  
She heads to the gym to find Clint already jogging on the treadmill. She steps onto the one next to him and they exchange a small nod by way of greeting each other. Natasha matches his pace and they jog in amicable silence. They jog for about 40 minutes before Natasha finds herself panting and out of breath. She steps off the treadmill and sits on a nearby bench for one of the weights machines to catch her breath.

  
Clint steps off of his own treadmill and hands her the bottle of water by his towel. “Jesus Christ Nat! We barely went for 40 minutes there and you’re out of breath! You used to be able to run faster than that for hours.”

  
“Just out of practice, that’s all,” Natasha says around huffs of breath and downs nearly half the bottle of water. She’s sweating profusely and pulls off her t-shirt to try and cool down, completely forgetting the reason why she was wearing such a baggy top in the first place.

  
Clint, of course, notices her stomach instantly. “Damn right you’re out of practice! Looks like you’ve ditched the diet as well. Jheeze! I retire for all of 10 minutes and you decide to get fat!”

  
“I’m not fat!” Her voice cracks a little and she can feel the tears trying to force themselves out.

  
She knows Clint isn’t being rude, just engaging in their typical banter but her hormones have been all over the place lately and pretty much anything can make her cry these days.

  
She accidentally ripped a hole in Bruce’s Culver University sweater the other week and burst into tears over it. Bruce had tried to assure her that it was fine and that he could just order another one but the fact that it wouldn’t have that distinctive Bruce smell just made her cry more. Bruce did order a new sweater and wore it for a few days just so his scent would rub off on it. Of course, presenting the sweater to Natasha only served to make her cry again.

  
“Really? Cause from what I can see you’re not exactly looking slim.” That seems to do the trick and Natasha can’t hold back the tide of tears that are flooding down her cheeks. “Are you… are you crying?” Pointing it out doesn’t seem to help. “Jesus Nat! You’re as hormonal as Laura was when she was pregnant with Nate. If didn’t know any better...” He huffs out a laugh before realisation spreads across his face. “Jesus Nat, are you pregnant?”

  
She wipes her cheeks dry and nods slightly. Clint is at a loss for words, so she fills in the first answer to the inevitable flurry of questions he has. “4 months.”

  
He finally manages to form some words. “And it’s Banner’s?” Natasha glares at him, annoyed at the insinuation and he holds his hands up to indicate he meant no offence. “How the fuck? I thought the Red Room sterilised you?”

  
“They did. But not very well.” She huffs out a laugh. “And it turns out the hulk is basically a cure for male infertility.”

  
The shock seems to have cleared from Clint’s face and is replaced by pure joy. He wraps his arms around her, not caring about the sticky sweat that has settled on her skin.

  
“Christ Nat! I’m so happy for you!” he pulls away slightly to get a look at her face. “We are happy about this right?”

  
She lets out a sigh that is half a huff of laughter and half relief that the questioning has ended. “Unbelievably so.”

  
That warrants another hug from Clint, this one slightly tighter than the last.

  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

  
“We haven’t told anyone yet.”

  
“You’re naming it after me, right?”

  
She nods “If it’s a boy. Bruce has picked the name if it’s a girl.”

  
“Uh, gender didn’t stop me naming my third-born after you.”

  
“Right, and what would the female variation of Clinton be?”

  
“Good point.” Clint’s face slips into that serious look he puts on when he’s giving Cooper or Lila stern words. “Do I need to have ‘the talk’ with Banner?”

  
Natasha snorts at that. “Bit late isn’t it?” her hand lightly pats her stomach. “He’s already gone and knocked me up.”

  
F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupts the moment announcing that Steve has requested both of their presence in the briefing room. Which can only really mean one thing. Natasha retrieves the t-shirt she was wearing and pulls it over her head as they head to the briefing room.

  
Steve and Tony are already there when they arrive, bickering over something that is inevitably just Tony teasing Steve. Thor is there too and Natasha’s not sure when he arrived back at the facility but his cheerful grin never fails to brighten her day and she’s glad to see him.

  
Bruce comes in a little after them and Steve starts the briefing, full Captain voice booming. “We have intel on an underground weapons manufacturer using alien tech to build some pretty lethal stuff. Hill wants us to go in, secure the weapons and take them out.”

  
“What kind of alien technology?” Thor’s grin is replaced by a solemn look. He’s been concerned with alien technology getting into the wrong hands ever since Ultron.

  
“The tech was made with harvested remains from the Chitauri after the Battle of New York. Parker dealt with the leader of the ring a few years ago but it seems some of the tech just went further underground- “

  
“Uh, sorry. Excuse me” Tony raises his hand as if he’s in a classroom, but he clearly wasn’t the type of kid to wait to be called upon. “I get why we’re not sending Parker back in, he is just a kid and all. But why can’t we send in some of the new recruits? Dunno if age has affected your memory but half of us are retired.”

  
Steve rolls his eyes and ignores the remark. “Barton, you’ll secure the perimeter from a vantage point, making sure none of the assailants make it too far from the base. Banner- “

  
Bruce visibly tenses at the sound of his name, as does Natasha. “Let me guess, you need the other guy?”

  
“Actually no.” The tension instantly releases out of them. They had agreed that Natasha wouldn’t perform any lullabies in her condition as a precaution in case the Hulk decides he doesn’t want to go to sleep. Which meant Hulk-outs were avoided entirely and when they were unavoidable were met with a rush to the Hulk containment unit. “We need you to neutralise the weapons once they’re onboard the jet. We don’t know how volatile they are so we could do with the Other Guy not showing up at all.”

  
“Happily, Cap.”

  
“Thor and Stark will offer air support as Romanoff and I enter the base to secure the weapons.”

  
Natasha is about to object when Clint steps in for her. “Uh, Nat can’t go.” All eyes turn to Clint, most displaying confusion except for Natasha who is trying to engage in a conversation without words. “She should be on the outer perimeter with me if she does. Doesn’t Hulk tend to show up whenever Banner gets angry?”

  
Natasha clocks on to what he’s getting at. “He’s got a point. If I get hurt, Doc gets mad. Doc gets mad… Hulk smashes. Probably best I stay away from hand-to-hand combat.” Her voice is indifferent as she slips into mission mode.

  
Steve seems to buy that line of argument. “Okay, Romanoff will be on the perimeter with Barton. We leave in 15 minutes so everyone suit up!”

  
Natasha heads back to the apartment to change and Bruce follows quickly behind her, shutting the door as soon as he enters.

  
“Nat, we have to tell them! You can’t be on this mission. What if something happens?”

  
“Clint knows.” That seems to stop Bruce in his tracks. “He kinda worked it out when I burst into tears over him calling me fat.” She can’t help but laugh a little at the whole ordeal. “He’ll make sure no one gets too close.”

  
She steps out of her gym clothes and starts to put on her tac suit, which is definitely getting too tight with her growing stomach.

  
“I don’t like this Nat. We need to tell the others. Wanda can replace you or something.”

  
“Bruce, I’ll be fine. Trust me.” She closes the gap between them and cups his cheeks with her hand. “Do you really want this to be the way we tell people?” he shakes his head slightly. “We’ll tell them, but we take care of the mission first. I’ll be fine.” She tiptoes up to offer him a reassuring kiss before they go to meet the others at the jet.

  
The flight to the base is nothing short of awkward. Tony and Thor opted to fly to the base separately which means that Steve is the only one on the jet that doesn’t know that Natasha is pregnant and it’s taking all that Bruce has not to blurt it out and have them turn the jet around. She can see the concern on his face but there’s nothing she can give him at this moment to reassure him. Luckily the base is in Toronto so it’s a short flight. The quicker they can get this mission over with, the quicker they can get back to the facility and tell the others about the baby. Seeing Bruce this concerned makes her certain that she never wants to put him through this again.

  
The doors to the Quinjet open as they approach the base, allowing the cold gust of November air to fill the jet. Steve makes his way towards the exit and taps his ear to engage his comms.

  
“Stark, Thor, are you in position?”

  
“Aye aye Cap'n”

  
Steve ignores Tony’s remark and turns back to the others in the jet. “You all know what you’re doing?” There are nods all around, although Bruce’s is reluctant. “Good. Banner, have the jet ready in case of emergency evac.” With another nod from Bruce, Steve launches himself out of the jet.

  
Bruce’s eyes go wide and his head snaps towards Natasha. She understands his concern and shakes her head to reassure him that she will not be exiting the jet in quite an exciting manner. Nerves somewhat assured Bruce takes over the controls for landing as Clint and Natasha get ready for deployment. Natasha again tries to engage in a wordless conversation with Clint only this time he seems to be able to catch on.

  
“Doc.” Bruce’s grunts some kind of acknowledgement. “I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble.”

  
Clint and Natasha exit the jet and position themselves near a cluster of trees on the outskirts of the base. They manage to keep most of the assailants at a distance with only a few managing to get close. Though Clint does make sure none of them gets too close to Natasha.

  
“Red. Legolas. There’s a few coming your way. Thor and I are trying to catch the stragglers but keep your eyes open.”

  
“You had one job Stark!”

  
“Uh, technically Katniss, that was your job.”

  
“Is this what you’re doing with your retirement Stark? Making up nicknames for me?”

  
Natasha rolls her eyes. She’s had enough of the mission; her feet are killing her; her ankles are pretty swollen, and she hasn’t eaten since breakfast. All she wants to do is curl up on the sofa with a bag of potato chips and Bruce rubbing her feet.

  
“Boys, you can fight when we’re finished!” That seems to get them to stop. A sharp pain tears through Natasha’s calf and she falls back clutching the spot that is now wet with blood. “Дерьмо!” She cries out in pain unable to control her response.

  
“Shit! Natasha!” Clint spots the assailant and sends an arrow his way, pinning him to a nearby tree by the neck. He rushes to her side to assess the injury.

  
Bruce’s panicked voice comes through the comms. “Nat! Are you okay? What happened?”

  
Natasha tries to speak through her pain. She can’t deal with a Hulk-out right now and she can tell by the panic in his voice that he’s on the verge. “Bruce, I’m fine. I just tripped over a log. That’s all.” He can deal with the truth on the jet when she can show him she’s fine. “Just a bruised coccyx and maybe a sprained ankle.”

  
“She’s fine Doc. I’m bringing her back to the jet now.” He sweeps his arms under her and carries her towards the jet bridal style. “Cap, you nearly done?”

  
“Should be back at the jet in 5.”

  
Bruce is pacing in the jet when they enter. He stops still, eyes wide when he catches sight of them.

  
“Don’t go green!” She says as Clint eases her onto one of the benches. “The bullet went straight through, didn’t touch bone.”

  
Bruce immediately grabs the medical kit and is kneeling at her side to examine the wound. “And the fall?” He’s slightly calmer now, though that’s likely just because he has something to keep him occupied.

  
“Nothing major. Just fell back on impact.”

  
“What if something had happened to the- “

  
Steve bursts in to cut him off; Tony and Thor following behind him carrying various weapons for analysis. He scans the jet and spots Bruce who is now wrapping Natasha’s calf. “Romanoff, I thought you said it was a sprain?”

  
Natasha’s neutral as she returns to mission mode. “We didn’t want a Hulk-out.”

  
Steve nods and turns to Bruce. “Banner, when you’re done, we need you to take a look at these.”

  
~*~

  
Tony pilots the Quinjet and they arrive back at the facility in less than an hour. Bruce scoops Natasha up in his arms and carries her off the jet. She’s more than capable of walking but she’s had him worrying all day and it helps if she lets him take care of her.

  
“Send those weapons to the lab, I’ll analyse them once I’ve cleaned the wound and done an ultrasound.” Bruce freezes, realising his slip. He holds his breath for a second, hoping no one had noticed but Tony quickly shatters that dream.

  
“Ultrasound? Why would you do an ultrasound on a GSW?”

  
“Uh…”

  
“He uses it for everything.” Natasha steps in to help him out. “Made me do an ultrasound for a splinter last week.”

  
Bruce reddens in embarrassment. “It’s an expensive piece of equipment.” It was part of the new equipment Tony had packed into the medical bay. Bruce had thought it completely ridiculous when he first arrived but he had found himself grateful for it in these past few months.

  
Bruce carries Natasha all the way to the medical bay and rests her on one of the beds. He peels back the bandaging he had dressed the wound with on the flight and proceeds to clean it.

  
“This was a close call, Nat.”

  
“I know. I’m sorry” she reaches her hand down and circles his wrist. “we’ll tell them today. With all the team here.”

  
That seems to settle his concern for now. He redresses her wound and pulls the ultrasound machine to the bed. Natasha unzips her tac suit and shuffles it down to her waist. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., initiate the Widow lockdown.”

  
Bruce squeezes the cold gel onto her stomach and Natasha tenses slightly at the sudden chill. He moves the wand over her abdomen in a rhythmic motion until the image pops up on the screen. The image never fails to make both of their hearts stop momentarily as they look upon their unborn child.

  
“The heartbeat sounds healthy. No signs of distress.” Bruce stares at the image “and I’m counting 20 fingers and toes-”

  
“21” Bruce looks back at Natasha in confusion. “I’m counting 21 fingers and toes. Which means…”

  
“We’re having a boy…” He finishes for her.

  
“That, or our kid is gonna have an extra digit.”

  
Bruce leans in to kiss her, his joy can be felt through his lips and it takes all she has not to cry at this moment. Luckily for her, the threat of tears is held off by the sudden sound of someone trying to enter the medical bay.

  
“What do you mean ‘access denied’? It’s my fucking facility! My access can’t be denied!” Tony’s unmistakable voice can be heard through the doors.

“Romanoff, if you’ve fucked with my AI again, I swear I am kicking you out of this facility! Open this fucking door!”

  
Natasha’s eyes snap from the door and back to Bruce. “follow my lead.” After a quick nod from Bruce, she proceeds to make loud, porn-star like sex noises. “Oh god! Bruce! Yes, right there! Right there! Oh god!”

  
“Are you two fucking in my med bay? You better not get anything on my equipment!”

  
Bruce fights back the laughter. “God Natasha! I’m almost there! Yes!”

  
“You two are ridiculous. When you’re done, go clean up and join us by the bar. Thor’s leaving this evening and we’re having a little send-off for him.”

  
They wait until they hear Tony’s footsteps fade away before they burst out into laughter. Natasha wipes the gel off her stomach and redresses as Bruce prints off the sonogram photo to go with the others in the box in their wardrobe.

  
~*~

  
Natasha rejoices at the fact that she can return to wearing her own clothes now that she doesn’t have to conceal her bump. She opts to wear one of her tank tops with a leather jacket and a pair of her maternity jeans; definitely one of the best purchases she’s made recently.

  
They walk to the bar area together; Bruce propping Natasha up slightly as she limps still feeling the slight twang of pain from her injury where she hasn’t been able to take any strong painkillers.

  
They enter the bar area to see what the others have already started without them and are already quite merry. Steve and Maria are looking cosy together on the couch and Clint has challenged Thor to a game of darts, something that he has no doubt initiated to show off his aim even when quite hammered. Tony is stood with Pepper and Wanda at the bar recanting a story with elaborate hand gestures.

  
Tony spots the two as they enter and greets them with two beers that he snags from an ice bucket on the bar top. “Nice of you two to finally join us. I have to say, as much as I approve of all things sleazy and sordid, I would appreciate it if you two didn’t contaminate medical equipment with your bodily fluids… unless it’s a medical emergency.”

  
Brue accepts his beer with a sheepish grin. Natasha turns hers away with a wave of her hand. "No thanks.”

  
“Of course. Beer is just like water to you Russians isn’t it?” Tony spins to face Wilson who is mixing drinks behind the bar. “Sam, good fellow. Be a dear and pour Romanoff a glass of vodka.”

  
“No, Sam. I’m fine.”

  
“She’s not drinking at all,” Bruce adds.

  
“Well, that’s just unbelievably dull.” Tony waves them off in dismissal as he saunters back over to Pepper and Wanda. “Whatever. Sam, get her a glass of orange juice or something. I’ll spike it when she’s not looking.”

  
“You dare Stark and I will make sure you experience new manners of pain that you never knew existed.” Her voice indicates that it’s not just a threat, but a promise.

  
Tony spins, hot on his heels. “Jheeze! I guess getting shot makes you extra cranky or something.”

  
Bruce sets down his beer and helps Natasha with her coat. This isn’t how either of them saw the announcement going but they need to shed some joy onto the growing tension.

  
“I’m not cranky Stark… I’m just…” She shrugs off her jacket to reveal her slightly rounded abdomen.

  
“Whatever you do, do not say fat!” Clint jumps in pre-emptively. “That’s a mistake you do not want to make, trust me.”

  
Every face in the room is filled with shock and awe as they stare at Natasha.

  
“So, we have news.” Bruce attempts to add some humour to the mix.

  
“We’ll be having an extra tenant in the facility,” Natasha says, lightly patting her stomach.

  
Thor is the first to break the silence. “Lady Natasha, it would appear you are with child. Congratulations!” The large biceps of the god wrap around her, cautious to not squeeze too tight. He embraces Bruce the same way, patting his back as he pulls away. “I’m sure your offspring shall be as brave and valiant as the two of you.”

  
“I did not see that coming. But congrats you two.” Sam raises his beer bottle in a toast, as does Wanda.

  
“Are you shitting me?” Tony’s face seems to display more betrayal than shock. “Bruce, how could you not tell me? How far along are you?”

  
“4 months.”

  
“You’re 4 months pregnant and you went on a mission?” Steve finally speaks after staring between the two of them. “You could’ve been seriously compromised?”

  
Bruce retrieves the glass of orange juice Sam had poured for Natasha. “That’s why we’re telling you now. We could really do with not being sent out on any missions from now on.”

  
“Congratulations Dr Banner, Agent Romanoff.” To anyone else, Maria’s voice would sound icy and emotionless but Natasha can hear the slight whimsical tone in it. She knows if they were both hugging people she would be embraced by the typically stoic agent. But they’re not. So, the sentiment is met with a curt nod and slight curve in the corner of Maria’s mouth.

  
Steve nods his acknowledgement. “So, are you two getting married?”

  
“Uh, Earth to Capsicle. It’s not 1940 anymore. People don’t have to get married to have babies.” Tony meanders over to Bruce and gives him a tight squeeze of a hug. “I’m happy for you Bruce. A little peeved that you didn’t tell me. But happy for you. The both of you.” He pulls back and looks Bruce square in the eyes. “You’re naming it after me, right?”

  
“Actually, Clint has dibs on our firstborn,” Natasha says as she is embraced by Pepper.

  
“It’s a boy?” Clint’s face is displaying a similar amount of emotion as during their conversation earlier.

Natasha nods over Pepper’s shoulder. "We think so."

  
“You wore a skin-tight suit for 3 hours today. How did none of us notice this?” He looks at Natasha who is now perched on the couch nursing her orange juice. “Are you giving birth to a hulk baby?” Pepper bats his arm with the back of her hand and he makes a mock injury sound. “It’s a valid question. What if I need to make a baby-Hulkbuster for the… Little-Big Guy?”

  
“I am sure an infant Hulk will be just as worthy an opponent as the larger Hulk.” Thor grins from ear to ear at the thought of the future battle. Until he catches sight of Natasha’s _what the fuck did you just say?_ and his smile instantly fades. “Although I would sooner challenge him to a battle of intelligence in a game of chess. Which I am sure he will be a formidable challenger.”

  
“Tony’s right.” Steve pipes up from where he’s resumed his cuddling with Maria. “I assume you’ve done some tests, Dr Banner?”

  
“Uh, yeah. I have.” Bruce fiddles with his glasses. “As far as the test results show, no. We won’t be having a ‘baby-Hulk’. But we won’t know for certain ‘til after he’s born”

  
Bruce had done some antenatal tests in Natasha’s second month of pregnancy and found no traces of gamma radiation in the amniotic sac. They had sent the samples to Helen Cho in South Korea and she had confirmed his findings. Though she recommended further tests be carried out after birth.

  
“Hm, maybe I should work up the specs of a baby-Hulk buster as a precautionary measure.” Bruce shakes his head to warn Tony off of saying anything further on the matter before Natasha’s death stare she’s offering him turns physical. “Or maybe not. Heh. Well anyway, I propose a toast.” He raises his beer bottle. “To green rage monsters and Russian spies and the raging green spy monster that they have created.”

  
Natasha sighs at that, but from the glint in Tony’s eyes, she can see that the sentiment is masked by the sarcasm of his words. She raises her glass to the unorthodox toast.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff, some gifts, it's all inside this update.

Natasha had always been slim. Always had what many men had called the ‘perfect body’; slim waist, strong thighs, plump ass and perky breasts. Of course, her body was largely shaped by the Red Room. Genetics had some part to play, but a large part of their training was to ensure the maintenance of their ‘model’ figures. The squats, the lunges, the crunches. All introduced to the training regime to ensure all the girls in the Red Room lived up to the fantasy image of a ‘sexy’ woman. It was easier to seduce a mark if you were the living embodiment of their wildest dreams.

Maintaining a certain level of fitness was something she enjoyed doing, even if she no longer had to use her body as a tool of seduction. She liked knowing that everything was tucked in the right place. She also liked to see the way Bruce’s jaw dropped to the floor every time she took her clothes off. So, the effects that the pregnancy was having on her body was the hardest part to come to terms with. Almost 8 months in she had learned to come to terms with the fact that she could no longer enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning without wanting to be sick or go a couple rounds in the ring with Steve. She had even resigned herself to the fact that she would need to pee every 2 hours or so.

But the ever-expanding stomach and breasts part was not something that she could get used to or the fact that she still had 6 more weeks to go before she could finally get her body back into shape. Even then, from what all the books and online sites that she’s read have been saying, her boobs will probably never be the same again. She’s not resentful though. Hell, if having the perfect body was something she had to give up in order to have a family with Bruce, she’d make the same decisions every time if given a second chance. She just wished someone had mentally prepared her for the physical changes of pregnancy.

Natasha is lying on her back on the bed staring at the large expanse of her stomach psyching herself up for the battle of putting on her shoes. It’s only a pair of running shoes seen as her ankles get too puffy to squeeze into boots but the challenge ahead is still a momentous one. The task of putting on her jeans alone had taken it out of her. Maternity jeans or not, they were still a bitch to put on.

Bruce steps out of the bathroom barefoot in a pair of black slacks and a light blue shirt that he’s yet to do up; still damp from his shower, hair looking more than a little dishevelled.

He tilts his head and quirks a smile as he looks at her. “Need a hand there?” she makes some kind of grunt and waves a hand towards her trainers. Bruce notices her feet are still totally bare. “Are we forgoing socks today.” He says, amusement clear in his tone.

“You try and access your feet when you’ve got this massive thing blocking your path.” She pats her stomach to indicate what she was referring to. Not that Bruce needed the visual aid.

Bruce huffs out a laugh and retrieves some socks from the draw before crouching down to put socks and shoes on her feet. Once they’re secured he does up his shirt and pulls a navy cable knit sweater over his head and slips his own shoes on.

He returns to the bedside and holds out his hand to help her up. “Come on. We don’t want to be late to our own baby shower.”

They had both been more than a little apprehensive about having a baby shower but Tony and Pepper had insisted. And after having given it some thought, Bruce figured it is what normal people would do and he really did crave normality. Natasha remained to be convinced on the whole idea.

Natasha reluctantly grasps hold of his hand and pulls herself up into a sitting position with a grunt and about as much grace as a manatee. “Do we have to go?”

“To our own baby shower?” he quirks an eyebrow at her.

“They won’t notice if we’re not there.”

“Of course, they won’t notice the absence of the pregnant woman at the baby shower.” Bruce deadpans.

“It’s just another excuse for Tony to show off his elaborate display of generosity.” She says with a roll of her eyes.

“And you don’t want to go why?”

“Because I’m fat and I’m tired and my ankles are puffy and-”

He interrupts her rant. “You’re not fat, you’re pregnant.” Bruce has very rarely had to reassure Natasha of her beauty. In fact, he’s not sure if he’s ever had to do it. But he’s more than happy to do that for her if that’s what she requires. “And you’re stunningly beautiful. And I promise that when we get back we can curl up in bed and I’ll give you a foot massage.”

“My back aches and your son kicks me 24/7.”

Bruce puts both hands on her stomach and brings his head low to talk to the bump. “Hey little guy, it’s your daddy speaking. Could you do me a favour and not kick your momma so much?” His eyes wander up to meet Natasha’s and he offers her a slight smirk. “She gets kinda cranky when you do that… Ow!” Bruce snaps his head back and brings a hand to his cheek.

“See!”

“He does not like being told what to do! He really is your son!” He rubs his cheek as he chuckles lightly.

Natasha manages to maintain poised, determined to stand her ground. “I waddle as I walk.”

“You’re my sexy penguin.” He says with a grin.

That gets a smile out of her and she ups her game. “I’m gassy… all the time.”

“Oh, I know that all too well.” Natasha snorts with laughter. “But it’s natural.”

“I pee a little when I laugh.” She says through her laughter.

“You have about 4 pounds pressed against your bladder. You’re 7 1/2 months pregnant Natasha, no one is gonna judge you for the behaviours that come with that.” He offers his hand out to heragain to help her off the bed. “Come on, a few hours of socialising and being given gifts and then we can come back home.”

“Or we could stay here.” Her voice slips into the husky tone of her bedroom voice. “I could think of something better we could do with a few hours.”

“Nice try. But we both know you’ve had no sex drive for the last two weeks.” She’s about to apologise but he stops her. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be jumping my bones in a few days. I’m happy to hold out for that. But if you do want to make it up to me somehow then I really like opening gifts and I don’t think they’re gonna hand them over to the non-pregnant one so I kinda need you there.”

His hand is still held out and she takes it as she pulls herself off the bed. “Fine Banner, but I definitely want that foot rub when we get back.”

  
~*~

  
As expected, the events room had been fully decked out. Most of which seemed to be arranged by Pepper judging by the elegant blue and cream colour scheme running throughout the room and the tastefully matching banners and balloons spread about the place. However, if the pin the sperm on the egg was any indication then it was clear Tony had also managed to get his say in the décor.

Pepper greets the couple with some mocktails; bright orange liquid with a variety of decorative fruit chunks and a sprig of mint. “Nice of you two to finally join us.” The astute woman says, though there’s no trace of irritation in her voice.

Natasha ducks her head, expecting Bruce to drop her in it but instead, he takes the fall. “Sorry, the baby was kicking and I sometimes get a little lost in feeling him go.” 

“As excuses go, that’s a pretty good one.”

“Perfect timing you two!” Tony saunters over to them. “We were about to start pregnancy themed charades. Red, seen as you’ve experienced most of it already, you get to judge.”

His face is the image of enthusiasm and Natasha takes great joy in being able to wipe the smile from his face.

“Tony, if you really think I’m playing games then you’ve got another thing coming.”

“What? Not even pin the sperm on the egg?” He looks a little disheartened as she shakes her head. “You’re no fun.”

His pout actually makes her feel a little bad for bursting his bubble, but the joys of being pregnant are that she can blame everything on the baby and hormones. “Sorry, Tony. I’m just feeling exhausted today.”

Pepper must be able to see the exhaustion on Natasha’s face as she steps in. “How about we just skip to the gift-giving so Natasha can get some rest?”

“Yeah that might be best, I did promise her a foot rub,” Bruce says with a small smile.

“Thor as ever is running late. I didn’t get a response from Clint.” Pepper turns to Natasha for an answer to the unspoken question.

“Chickenpox… or lice. Not sure which one.” She looks to Bruce for help with that one but he simply shrugs not knowing the answer himself. “We’re heading up there in a few weeks anyway.”

“Okay, fine no games. But we’re doing the cake! I had this one specially made.” Pepper rolls her eyes and before she can intervene Tony is ushering them over to the buffet table where Sam is putting the finishing touches on the display. Natasha didn’t think Tony was capable of genuinely shocking her anymore, but then he goes and does this. The cake is a baby hulk with a mop of red curly hair which Natasha finds strangely cute and lets her smile show that. “See Pep, I told you they’d like it!”

“I don’t think I want to cut into it.”

“You don’t have to,” Steve says as he walks in the room holding a chocolate cake. “I baked you a separate cake.” Maria, who is following behind him, coughs loudly. “ _Maria_ baked you a cake.”

“He just watched and asked questions about the mixer,” Maria adds.

“I thought we’d gone over the whole electricity thing?” Tony mocks.

“I think he may need another lesson.” Steve turns a betrayed look to Maria. “I told you I would make fun of you if you asked me stupid questions.”

“It’s not my fault I was born before the age of technology.” Steve mumbles.

“Okay, enough Captain bashing” Tony is about to make a snarky comment at her choice of words and Pepper simply holds a hand up to stop him. “Presents.”

Bruce’s face lights up like a Christmas tree as he sits next to Natasha and awaits the gifts. Sam goes first and hands Bruce a suave looking grey backpack. Bruce looks a little confused and opens it to find it filled with baby changing supplies; diapers, wipes, talcum powder and other bits that Bruce realises he needs to work out what to do with, and fast.

“It’s also got a changing mat,” Sam adds for further explanation. He hands Bruce another bag. “And this one is also a travel crib. Apparently, babies sleep a lot.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Natasha sends a smile his way as she’s handed a rather large but lightweight gift basket from Maria.

“This is from me and Steve.”

The basket is filled with swaddle blankets, baby grows, comforters and huggable pacifiers. Bruce spots a small booklet and picks it up staring at it quizzically. The front of the booklet says Baby Sitting Coupons and there are about 20 of them in there.

He looks up at Steve and Maria who are grinning from ear to ear. “For when you need a little break or some time to yourselves. I’m great with kids and Maria had 4 younger siblings so we’d be more than happy to babysit from time-to-time.” Maria nods in agreement.

“Thanks, guys.” He turns to Natasha. “I’m sure we’ll be using these.”

Natasha is about to speak when Thor comes bellowing in, arms filled with gifts. “Friends! I am sorry for my late arrival to the showering of the Lady Natasha and Dr Banner’s offspring.” He looks around confused at the lack of a baby. “I do not understand. Is the child not also meant to attend this event?”

“No Point Break. It’s an event that takes place before the child is born.” Tony flings his hands up in exasperation. “Did you not read the email I sent out? It had a link to a Wiki page explaining baby showers specifically for you!”

“Ah yes, but I have not figured out how to work these… links.” Tony sighs heavily, not willing to get into a long explanation about something so simple. “How will I present my gifts to the young warrior if he has not yet left the confines of the womb?”

“You present the gifts to the parents, Thor,” Pepper explains before Tony can provide a snarky comment.

“Ah, I see. Well, then Lady Natasha, Dr Banner. I present to thee these gifts for your young.”

Bruce stands to collect the pile from him and eyes the gifts wearily, Natasha holds up what looks like a small dagger. Bruce’s eyes widen at the sight of it. “Our kid's is not having _that_.”

Natasha picks up another sharp looking object. “Or _this_!”

Bruce looks at the pile, then at Natasha who is still holding up the small weapons and then to Thor who seems to now be sporting a frown as opposed to his large grin. “Thor, are any of these not weapons of some kind?”

“These gifts are customary in Asgardian culture.”

“Uh, Thor. Here on Midgard, we don’t give lethal objects to children.” At his puzzled look, Natasha adds. “Not in normal cases anyway. But thank you for the thought.” She says as she sets aside some of the weaponry. They might not be suitable for a child but that doesn't mean that she won't use them. 

“Well, thank you for that Thor. On to some actually useful gifts.” Tony brings over a large box covered in Avengers wrapping paper and places it in front of both Bruce and Natasha. “This is from me and Pepper.” At Peppers cough, he amends “okay, just from me then.”

Bruce lifts the lid and immediately sees why Pepper chose to distance herself from this gift. He holds up a Hulk onesie with matching Hulk fist gloves. He looks up at Tony who is biting back a laugh. “he's not wearing this, Tony!”

“Hell yes, he is!” Natasha grabs the onesie from his hands. She stands it up and flexes the arms putting on a mock Hulk voice. “Baby smash!” The room erupts in laughter, all except for Bruce who tries to suppress his laughter.

“Well if he’s wearing that then he’s definitely wearing this.” He holds out a baby grow that is clearly supposed to look like her tac suit.

“I’d be disappointed if he didn’t.”

“There’s one for every Avenger. Some of them have accessories like hats or gloves or plushies.” Natasha coos at a mini bow and arrow plushie that obviously goes with the Hawkeye onesie. “See Pep, I told you they’d love it! There are also a few less costumey bits in there. You’d be surprised the amount of Avengers-themed baby clothes that are out there.”

“Did you buy every piece of it?” Bruce asks as he looks at a baby grow with the caption _You won’t like me when I’m angry_ and another that reads _My parents are superheroes_ and can’t help but smile at them.

“Not all of it… just everything for 0-12months” he says with a massive grin.

“Right well I figured baby would get enough gifts today so here’s something for mum.” Pepper hands Natasha a small gift basket with various toiletries. “Thought you might like a pampering session.” She turns to Bruce. “There are also some essential oils you can use for a foot rub.”

That seems to bring the biggest smile to Natasha’s face of the night. “Thanks, Pepper. We’ll definitely be using this.” She turns her smile to the rest of the room. “Thank you guys, you really didn’t have to.”

“Oh please” Sam waves a hand to dismiss the notion. “This is more an opportunity for us to buy cute small people stuff if anything.”

“Wait! There’s one last gift.” Tony says as he rushes out the room and comes hurrying back in with what looks like a jewellery small box which he hands over to Bruce. “So this is from both me and Pep.”

Bruce opens the box and holds up a key. Natasha quirks an eyebrow at the couple looking for further explanation.

“It’s more symbolic than anything,” Pepper says, not really offering the explanation she was looking for.

“If you two would like to follow me,” Tony says as he starts to head for the door. Bruce helps Natasha off the sofa and they follow behind Tony along with the others. They get to the front door when Tony turns to them. “I maybe should’ve told you to bring a coat or something.”

“I’ll be fine.” Bruce whips off his jumper and hands it to Natasha who pulls it over her head. It’s cold out but the arrival of spring has meant the threat of snow has gone and the wind isn’t too bad, though Bruce still wraps his arms around Natasha and pulls her close to try and share his body heat.

Tony leads them round the back of the facility and starts to walk towards a building that Natasha is sure she’s never seen before. It’s only until they get closer and streetlamps along a driveway turn on that Natasha realises that it’s a house that they’re approaching. A rather large two-storey house with a side garage and a large outdoor play area fitted with a swing set, slide and Jungle Jim.  
Tony stops at the front gate and turns back to Bruce and Natasha who are both stood with their jaws practically on the floor.

“It requires voice activation, a biometric scan and a retina scan to gain access, same with the front door. So far it’s only programmed to accept those from the two of you but you can programme others in if you wanted.” The couple doesn’t speak so Tony continues. “Downstairs is a pretty open plan. Living room, kitchen, dining room, a private office and a guest bathroom. Upstairs has 2 medium-sized bedrooms connected by a bathroom. And a master bedroom with an en suite that lives up to Nickelback’s dream of having a bathroom you can play baseball in with a king-sized tub big enough for 10 plus me.”

Natasha is the first of the two of them to speak. “Tony this is…”

“Too much.” Bruce finishes for her. “We can’t possibly accept this.”

“Well, if you don’t then I’ve gone and built a house for nothing and this whole thing goes to waste?”

“When did you even have this built?” Natasha knows her instincts haven’t been the best since she fell pregnant but she’d like to think she would at least notice an entire construction site in her own backyard. Although apparently not.

“Started consulting an architect a few days after you told us all about the baby.” He says nonchalantly. “Pep and I figured you two would like to have a private place to live, you know, starting a family ‘n’ all. But might want to know the Avengers are still around for extra protection if needed.”

“Is that code for, Tony couldn’t stand the thought of his science bro moving away?”

“Thank you, Tony. This means so much.” Bruce embraces the eccentric engineer and then Pepper. “Should we go in?”

Natasha nods and places her hand on the biometric scanner as it begins to scan her retina at the same time. “Natasha Romanoff.”

The familiar voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. answers her. “Welcome home, Ms Romanoff.”

“I had F.R.I.D.A.Y. fitted throughout the house too. She’ll scan the area as you enter the gate and notify you of anything suspicious-looking. And of course any car you drive will need to be fitted with the same system but that’s easy.”

They walk to the front door and Bruce takes his turn to try out the security protocols. He scans his palm prints and his retina as he says his name for the voice activation to be once again be greeted by F.R.I.D.A.Y.

The door opens and they enter into the large open plan area with solid oak wood floors and cream walls. “Wow! Tony this is amazing!”

“It would have been ready for you to move in tomorrow but _somebody”_ Tony angles his head towards Pepper, “thought you two might want to decorate yourselves.”

Natasha can faintly hear the banter going on around her but she blocks it out as she looks around the empty house, picturing what it might look like once furnished. Pictures her and Bruce sat in the living room as they watch their son take his first steps. Her hands graze over the post of the archway connecting the living room and the hallway and she imagines marking his height each year.

Her eyes wander to the window above the sink in the kitchen that looks out onto the play area and she pictures their son playing, bright red curls blowing in the wind as he runs from Bruce. Her mind pictures all the things that her future might be. All the things that the Red Room tried to take away from her, told her that she can’t have. The thought is overwhelming and she reaches for Bruce’s hand. She squeezes it tight, centring herself in the present.

Bruce doesn’t say anything. Simply squeezes her hand in reassurance.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're back at the Barton farm for this one :)

The journey to the farm took much longer than expected. Natasha isn’t allowed to operate heavy machinery on account of being heavily pregnant and neither of them trusted Bruce’s piloting skills enough to fly them, which meant they had to embark on the 5-hour car journey. Or at least it would’ve been 5 hours if Bruce wasn’t such a cautious driver and if Natasha didn’t have to use the toilet every hour. The constant stops meant they didn’t get to the farm until late that evening, hours behind schedule. Still, both were glad to finally arrive.

They had planned to spend a few nights at the farm with the Barton’s while the final touches were being done in the house. They had it to a liveable standard thanks to Pepper’s pretty efficient interior designers. All that needed to be done was a few final coats of paint and it’ll be ready for them to move in when they return, ready to wait out the last week they had before Natasha’s due date.   
Bruce gets out of the car first and rounds the vehicle to help Natasha out. As much as she hates to admit it she does need the help, though that doesn’t stop her from grumbling about how she’s fine and can do it on her own.

They begin their slow journey to the front porch, Bruce supporting her as they walk along. They’re about halfway down the pathway when the trio of Barton kids come rushing out of the front door in their usual fashion. Natasha braces herself for the inevitable wrestling match that usually occurs during her visits to the farm.

“Auntie Nat! Uncle Bruce!” All three kids come charging their way but they don’t come charging into her, instead, she watches them tackle Bruce, Cooper and Lila taking him down while Nate piles on top.

“What’s this? Do I not get a hug anymore?”

“Dad said to be gentle because you have a baby living inside of you,” Lila exclaims as she releases Bruce from her grasp. The excitement on her face never fails to make Natasha smile.

“Is it true Auntie Nat? Is there a baby living in there?” Nate points down to her stomach from his new vantage point in Bruce’s arms.

Bruce answers for her. “It is. Your Auntie Nat and I are having a baby.” Bruce puts Nate down despite his complaints. “You guys can hug her just be careful okay.”   
All three immediately wrap their arms around Natasha, careful not to squeeze too hard.

“Oh god, I’ve missed you guys!” It’s amazing how much kids can grow in the space of a few months. “You guys are so big now!”

“Right kids, time to release the whale and let it wash up on shore,” Clint calls from the doorway. Natasha sends a death glare his way and Clint can’t help but tease further. “You’re not gonna cry again are you?”

“No, but I might kill you for that one.”

“Yeah, but you’d have to waddle over here first.” Natasha does continue the journey to the front door whilst Bruce heads back to the car to collect their bags with the help of Cooper. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m so ready for the pregnancy part to be over,” Natasha says as Clint wraps his arms around her.

He pretends whispers in her ear. “You’ll regret saying that. It’s the only time they’re quiet.”

“Auntie Nat, you have to see my art project for school! It’s so cool!”

“You’ll have to show Auntie Nat tomorrow.” The familiar voice belonging to Laura rings through the house as the woman emerges from the kitchen. “Li, Nate you two go and get washed up for bed, please. Your Dad will be up soon to tuck you in.” Her command is met with a chorus of moans but after a stern look from Laura, the two kids comply. “Nat come here!” she says with open arms. “You look so big!”

“Gee thanks.” Natasha rolls her eyes but there’s a huge smile on her face.

“Have you guys eaten? I saved you some pasta.” Bruce comes through the door with their bags and he’s immediately embraced by Laura. “Bruce, it’s so good to see you again!”

Clint’s greeting is a more formal handshake but the pat on the back that accompanies it shows that it’s no less welcoming.

“Thanks, it’s good to see you too. Thanks for having us. We really wanted to stop by before things got… busy.”

“Trust me, busy is an understatement of what you two are gonna be.”

Laura swats Clint’s arm. “Stop trying to scare them! Coop take their bags up to the spare room. You can play games for an hour and then it's straight to bed.” Cooper is much more compliant than his younger siblings and doesn’t grumble, simply collects the two bags and carries them up the stairs after saying goodnight.

“I’m not trying to scare them; I’m trying to prepare them for what’s to come.” Clint leads the way to the dining room and puts the kettle on. “Did you guys want something to eat?”

“No thanks, we ate on the way down,” Bruce says as he pulls the chair out for Natasha.

“Well Nat, if you do get hungry Bruce told me that pickles and crackers were your snacks of choice so we’ve stocked up.” Laura takes the seat opposite the heavily pregnant spy.

“I believe the text said, ‘Nat puts pickles on literally everything… oh and she likes to eat crackers in bed.’” Clint says with a smirk.

“I don't put them on _everything_ ,” Natasha grumbles into the tea Clint handed to her. “But the crackers thing is true.”

“I watched you put pickles on your ice-cream.” The look of disgust is evident across Bruce’s face.

“Hey, it’s your kid that’s demanding all the pickles.” She gives Bruce a pointed look. “What happened ‘no one’s going to judge you for being pregnant.’?”

Bruce plants a small kiss on her cheek. “I know sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

“So have you two got everything sorted?” Laura asks, face beaming with excitement.

“Yep pretty much. Just getting the final touches done on the house and then we’re good to go.”

“Have you stocked up on sheet savers?” Clint’s question sends the two of them into a flurry of panic.

“What the hell are sheet savers?” Natasha’s eyes are wide as she stares at the older woman. “We got everything on the list. That wasn’t on the list.” Natasha finally catches on when she sees Clint trying to stifle a laugh. “You are so lucky I have 7 pounds of baby stopping me from punching you right now Barton.”

Laura carries out the threat on her behalf and promptly ends Clint’s laughter. “Ignore him. Sheet savers are a waste of money.” Laura punches Clint in the arm again for good measure. “They’re probably nervous enough as it is without you making it worse.”

“Right, well I’m gonna take myself up to bed before I get punched again.” Clint collects the mugs and loads them into the dishwasher. “Breakfast’s at 9.”

“I’m making waffles.”

  
~*~

  
Though the Barton’s weren’t particularly strict parents they did keep a tight routine for mealtimes, curfews and bedtimes. The kids all knew the schedule and followed it with little to no defiance. Though when Auntie Nat (and now Uncle Bruce) came to visit, the bedtime was often a matter for dispute. Still, breakfast was ready by 9 and all members of the Barton clan were settled around the table to enjoy the promised waffles that Natasha had told Bruce were infamous last night. The waffles were stacked high on several plates in the centre of the table. Bowls of chopped fruits of various kinds were scattered around the table along with different flavoured syrups.

Bruce had tried to discreetly pass Natasha the jar of pickles but of course, Clint had spotted this and proceeded to snicker behind his glass of juice. Natasha simply shrugged and unashamedly piled the pickles onto her waffles to a chorus of _‘ews’_ from the children around the table- Clint included.

“Auntie Nat, why are you eating that?” Lila asks from across the table.

“Because munchkin, the baby wants them.” Natasha answers.

“But how do you know that’s what the baby wants?”

“Well, sometimes I see something that I don’t usually like and then I really want it. And lots of it.”

“Like how I always wanted ice chips when I was pregnant with your little brother,” Laura adds.

Lila looks as though she’s contemplating that answer along with her next question. “How did the baby get in there?” she asks as she points to Natasha’s rounded stomach.

Laura and Clint look wide-eyed to each other. Cooper is snickering behind his hand, the 13-year-old having recently had a ‘talk’ from his dad. Natasha received a running commentary of that conversation via text from Laura, which she shared with Bruce and the couple found as equally hilarious as they were finding this conversation.

Natasha gives Clint a sly smirk before answering the 9-year-old (though if you asked her age she’d tell you she’s 10 in 2 months). “That’s something that I’m sure your dad will be happy to explain to you.”

“Uh, no. That’s not something you’re ever finding out. Ever!” He turns to glare at Natasha and Bruce who are both struggling to contain their laughter. “You two just wait. You’ll be going through the same thing someday soon and I’ll be there to make it so awkward for you.”

“Uncle Bruce, can we make that volcano now?” Cooper asks the scientist who is still heaving with laughter.

“Sure thing, bud. Did you get all the stuff on the list I sent you?” at the excited nod, Bruce pushes back from the table, clears some of the dishes and heads towards the kitchen to get the vinegar and baking soda. Bruce had told Natasha about the list of kid-friendly science experiments that he and Coop were planning to do over the next few days, volcanos being at the very top of the list.

“Not in the house please,” Laura yells at the two of them as they retreat with their stash of props.

It was an experiment that Bruce had done several times and yet he still managed to look more excited than Cooper. Natasha often found herself imagining Bruce doing all sorts of crazy experiments with their child. She had a feeling he was going to be just as into science like his dad if the way he seemed to settle down whenever Bruce spoke about one of his theories was any indication.

Natasha’s pulled out of her thoughts by a small tug on her arm from Lila. “Auntie Nat, are you gonna come see my art project now?”

“Sure thing, Lilabug.”

  
~*~

  
Bruce had always loved science experiments as a kid. Sure he still did cool science experiments now, but most of them were simulations run by F.R.I.D.A.Y. and very rarely did he actually get to get his hands dirty- so to speak. Basic science experiments like volcanos and making your own lava lamps and even making slime always brought him the most joy. When his father used to lock him in his room he’d do experiments to take his mind off of what was happening on the other side of the door. You tend not to notice the screaming when you’re watching a baking soda and vinegar concoction spew out of a volcano like lava.

He and Cooper had a list of 10 experiments that they were planning to do over the next few days, yet through sheer excitement and scientific curiosity they had done them all by 4 and Bruce was positively scienced-out. Well, not really. He’s spent much longer in the lab with Tony running solely on scientific curiosity and protein bars. But these days he has a pact with Natasha- she won’t overexert herself in the gym if he doesn’t overexert himself in the lab. Which meant that this day of science was the longest stretch he’d done for a while.

Bruce walks into the living room to see Natasha sat on the couch, eyes closed, mouth slightly open, head collapsed back with a discarded colouring book on her prominent baby bump. Lila and Nate had since abandoned the living room, no doubt under the instruction of Laura to do so, to allow the pregnant spy to rest.

Bruce couldn’t help but stare at the image before him, as he often found himself doing. He’d spent the best part of the last 7 years (excluding his 2-year hiatus) wondering how he had gotten so lucky. He was heralded as a hero to most of the world- even if he didn’t quite agree with that. He had been blessed with the generosity of Tony Stark allowing him to live amongst his luxury and giving him access to pioneering research. He’d been blessed with a team of people who valued him in his own right, not just for the Other Guy. But most of all he’d been blessed with a beautiful redhead that for reasons that remained unfathomable to him loved him. A woman who believed that she wasn’t capable of such love had somehow fallen in love with him. And was now carrying his child. A fact that Bruce often found himself amazed by.

Bruce snaps himself out of his thoughts and retrieves a blanket to cover Natasha. He brushes a loose curl away from her face and places a small kiss on her forehead.

“She must really be out of it, huh?” Clint’s voice comes from across the room. 10 years ago, the fright would’ve been enough to bring out the Other Guy. But that was another perk of his new life. When you live with a stealthy assassin you get used to being spooked by the sudden presence of another individual.

“Nah. She knows I’m here.” He responds with a slight chuckle. “She just likes to indulge my delusions.”

“Bruce, honey. I love you, but if you don’t let me sleep I’m going to kill you.” Natasha says not moving from her position in the slightest.

“Love you too.” Bruce places another kiss on her forehead before heading over to where Clint is standing. “That’s only the second time she’s threatened to kill me today.”

“You’re gonna make it a third Banner.”

Clint winces. “Use of the last name too.” He pats Bruce on the shoulder. “We should get you out of here before she makes good on those threats.”

Clint leads him out to the back barn which has been decked out as his own personal space. There’s a glass cabinet with his bows and various arrows, some of which Bruce recognises as arrows he himself made. A beat-up looking green couch is sat in front of a makeshift fireplace and there’s a fridge in the corner that’s giving off more feedback then it is probably expending in useful energy.

“I thought you were finally going to give me ‘the talk’.” Bruce nervously wrings his hands. “You know, threaten to put an arrow in my eye if I ever hurt Nat.”

“Nah, you’re all good.” Clint retrieves two beers from the fridge, pops them both open and hands one over to Bruce before collapsing into the couch. “Nat’s more than able to take care of herself. And we both know how an arrow in your eye would work out for me.”

“Well, if her rather inventive death threats are anything to go by,” Bruce says as he joins Clint on the couch, which is surprisingly softer than he had ever imagined. “Is that a pregnant woman thing or just a pregnant assassin thing?”

“Oh yeah, that’s a pregnant woman thing. Laura would threaten to kill me at least three times a day. Just wait for the contractions to start.”

“In 2 weeks’ time…” Bruce breathes out a heavy breath.

“Nervous?”

“So fucking terrified.” He runs a hand through his mess of curls.

“Yeah. I could tell you that’ll go away. Tell you that once you hold that small child in your hands and you realise that them and the woman they came out of are the only things that matter that all that fear goes away. But it doesn’t. It never does, never will.” He shrugs, swigs at his beer and smiles at Bruce as though he’s just given him the best fatherhood advice going.

“That was… not in the least bit helpful.” Bruce says with a gulp of beer.

“Is there anything I can say right now that will make you feel any less scared?” Bruce shakes his head. “To be honest buddy, you’ve just got to wing it. You can read all the books and the websites but at the end of the day you still won’t know what you’re doing.”

“You know you’re really bad at this whole advice thing right?”

Clint ignores the remark and continues. “You’re gonna mess up, do some things that scar the kid for life. Maybe drop him once or twice-”

“Are you telling me you’ve dropped one of your kids?” Bruce asks in disbelief.

“Oh yeah, lots of times,” Clint says with a shrug and a swig of his beer. “You know that soft part on the back of Nate’s head? Turned my back whilst he was on the changing table and he rolled right off. Told Laura about it, turns out she did the same thing the day before.”

“Okay, rule number one: don’t turn your back on a baby.”

“Or do. It builds character I guess. Squidgy heads make tough kids.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” Bruce says, not entirely convinced with the line of argument.

“Dad, Uncle Bruce. Dinner’s ready.” Cooper’s head comes poking around the door of the bar. “Mum says to stop hiding out here and come help set the table and Auntie Nat says she’ll see through with those threats if you don’t hurry up.”

“Are you okay with Natasha using your kid to deliver threats?”

Clint shrugs. “You better get used to the idea. She’ll be getting your kid to do that soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just imagine Clint Barton as the kind of guy that says a bunch of stuff that he thinks is helpful but really it's anything but.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its all been quite happy for a while hasn't it?

The trip to the Barton farm was exactly what Natasha needed. The thought of having a child of her own was something that she was finding more and more terrifying the closer she got to the due date. She knew the basics of caring for a child, had been around when both Cooper and Lila were born and learnt the basics of childcare. But that part-time experience didn’t compare to the full-time job that she and Bruce were about to embark on.

She didn’t so much need reassurance per se, just needed advice on how exactly one went about this whole parenting thing. Particularly how an ex-spy went about it. And who better to provide that advice than an experienced mother and an ex-spy-now-father? Natasha was leaving the farm feeling a lot more prepared for what was to come in just over a week. Well, maybe not more prepared, but feeling less overwhelmed.

Laura’s arms wrap around her, the warmth of her hug surging through Natasha. “Good luck. We’ll be at the facility next week.” Laura and Clint had offered to come by to help Natasha and Bruce out for the first few weeks to get them adjusted to parenthood. An offer the couple were eager to accept. “Oh, and take all the drugs,” Laura says with a dead-serious look on her face. “Like I mean everything that they offer you. Take it. I know you’ve endured pain before but take everything!”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

“Auntie Nat, when are we gonna get to meet the baby?” Lila asks as she wraps her arms around the redhead.

“In a few weeks sweetie.” Clint answers for her. “You’re staying at your grandmas’ for a week and then she’s gonna bring you to the facility.”

“Are we gonna get to see Captain America again?” Cooper asks excitedly as he shakes Bruce’s hand, apparently too old for a hug. Natasha doesn’t embrace this prepubescent delusion and wraps him in a tight hug anyway.

“And Spiderman!” The youngest Barton exclaims as he tugs out of Bruce’s hug.

“ _Or_ you can meet the newest addition to the Avengers.”

“But Dad, he won’t have any superpowers!” Comes Lila’s reasoning.

“Oh yeah, he will. He’ll have the power to expel the deadliest substance in existence. Baby poop.” Clint is met by a series of ews from the kids, and a few from Bruce too.

After the second round of hugs, the couple shuffles into the car, the action definitely becoming more of a chore for Natasha lately. The slow speed of Bruce’s driving combined with the steady breeze of A/C and the mellow music coming from the radio has her falling asleep in no time at all. She’s not sure how long she’s out for but she wakes with the start.

“Bruce.”

“What? Is it the baby?” His voice is panic-stricken and he’s sped up his driving slightly. “It’s too early!”

“No Bruce. I need to pee.” She says around her laughter at his panicked state, noting his white knuckles from the tight grip he has on the steering wheel. “There’s a service station coming up.”

“Oh thank god.” His grip instantly loosens as he makes the exit for the service station. “You know we should really have a code word or something. You know, for when it’s actually happening.”   
“How about I just say, ‘the baby’s coming’?”

Bruce lets out a light chuckle. “That works. We might as well get some lunch. Fancy a cheeseburger?”

“Sounds perfect.” Natasha gives him a small kiss before she turns towards the bathroom. “Oh and Bruce?” she calls back over her shoulder.

“I know, extra pickles. Meet you back at the car in 10.”

Natasha doesn’t see Bruce when she makes it back to the parking lot, which isn’t too strange. He’s probably just waiting for the food. What is strange, however, is the feeling in her gut, and it’s not from the baby. Her eyes scan the parking lot as she nears the SUV, not spotting anything out of place. She doesn’t spot anything until she’s at the passenger door when she notices the three men coming up behind her. Their uniform is nondescript, all-black Kevlar and heavy-duty boots. Not official army gear but definitely not some amateur, underfunded, back alley group. They have guns but they’re still holstered so they have no intention of harming her, which is a comforting thought until Natasha realises that this is an attempted kidnapping. Great. Her widow bites are in the car and Bruce has the keys which is just absolutely perfect.

She feigns ignorance of the activities behind her, using the reflection in the car window to track the movements of the three men. She doesn’t make her move until the first guy reaches for her, grabbing hold of his arm before he comes into contact with her. She uses her body weight to flip him over and he lands hard on his back. The second guy lunges at her but she has enough time to grab the knife in her thigh holster. She jams it into his eye and he stumbles back, tripping over the first guy and trapping him under the dead weight. The third guy seems to realise that even heavily pregnant the Black Widow is not to be underestimated and has pulled out his firearm. He doesn’t shoot though. He swings his arm to try and knock her over the head with the butt of the gun. Natasha is able to just about duck out of the way and twists the guy's arm behind his back, wrenching the gun out of his hand.

She’s about to aim the gun when the first guy jerks himself free from under the body of the second guy and brings a cloth to her nose. The scent of chlorophyll fills her nostrils and her vision goes blurry before she’s able to properly line up the shot. She can tell from the grunt that the bullet met its mark but given that she can feel him grabbing hold of her legs as the first guy catches her limp upper body, it wasn’t a fatal shot.

  
Just as she’s about to blackout she hears one of the men saying, “target acquired, unharmed. No sign of Banner.”

  
~*~

  
Bruce feels his heart stop when he comes across the scene in the parking lot. His eyes scan past the body and fixate on the splatters of blood on the floor and the distinct lack of his pregnant girlfriend. The panic sets in when he approaches the body and sees Natasha’s knife embedded in the corpses’ eye socket. A crowd has gathered now and people are directing questions his way but all he’s able to do is stare at the knife.

His heart has started beating again but at 10 times its usual speed as if the Big Guy is about to come out and it takes all he can to keep him at bay. It would be so easy to let him out, an expression of all the rage that he’s feeling right now. But that’s not going to help. Natasha needs Bruce right now, not the Hulk. Later he’ll get his chance, but not right now.

Bruce’s shaky hands search his pockets, free of the food bags he hadn’t realised he’d dropped. He finally locates his phone and starts to dial.

_“Hey, what did you guys forget?”_

“Natasha’s gone.”

_“What? What do you mean she’s gone?”_

“We stopped at a service station and when I got back to the car there was a body and blood.” Bruce can hear the sounds of a Quinjet starting up. If his mind wasn’t preoccupied with more important matters he’d question how the archer managed to acquire one. But right now his brain is flooded with hundreds of thoughts about what could’ve happened to Natasha; if she’s dead or alive, injured or untouched. “Natasha’s nowhere in sight.”

_“Okay, I’m tracking the GPS on your phone.”_ Bruce nods, forgetting that Clint can’t actually see him. “ _Bruce, I need you to not turn green okay_.”

He nods again. “Yeah.”

_“I’ll be there in 10.”_

The time between hanging up the phone and Clint’s arrival goes by in a haze of police sirens and a flurry of questions that he doesn’t have the answers to nor the cognitive abilities to even attempt to offer any. He vaguely notes someone pulling him to sit on the hood of a car but he doesn’t dwell on it, concentrates on his breathing techniques instead. In for three. Don’t go green. Wait for Clint. Out for three. Repeat.

It’s not until he feels the flat of an open palm connect with his cheek that he checks back in, eyes focusing on the figure in front of him. He’s not sure how long it’s been but there are EMTs gathered in the parking lot and police are sectioning off the area. Clint is clicking fingers in his face trying to capture his attention as he yells at the surrounding officers not to touch anything on the scene.   
“Bruce? Bruce, you with me buddy?” There’s panic in his voice but he’s attempting to mask it with assurance; for Bruce’s sake or his own, he’s not quite sure. “This is official Avengers business! Don’t touch that body!” Hells back to an officer that’s getting too close to the body. “Bruce, if we’re gonna help Nat then I need to see if I can find anything on the body that will tell us who did this. Are you good?” Another click of the fingers finally draws his focus. “You good?”

“Yeah.” Bruce shakes his head, clearing it of the final haze. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay good. I’m gonna go take a look at the body.” He places both hands on Bruce’s shoulders and looks him square in the eye. “Just wait here and keep doing those breathing techniques. We’re gonna get her back, Bruce.”

At his nod, Clint leaves Bruce to search the corpse lying next to his car. He knows he should try and help somehow, maybe ask some of the people gawking at the scene if they’d seen anything. There are dozens of phones out taking pictures and recordings (no doubt to send to the local news crew for a quick buck), someone’s surely bound to have seen something. Or CCTV, he should ask to take a look at the recordings. Or do something to help. But all he can focus on is trying not to turn green.

That is until Clint returns from looking at the body with a confused look on his face and a dog tag in his hand. “He was wearing this.” He holds the dog tag up for Bruce to see. “He’s military.”

It all finally clicks into place as Bruce works out exactly who’s responsible. Green swarms his vision and he can’t hold the Hulk back any longer. He vaguely notices Clint frantically trying to clear the area before he releases all control to the Hulk.

  
~*~

  
“Good evening Miss Romanoff.” The deep voice pulls Natasha from her haze of sleep. Her eyes slowly open to a white-tiled room. The lights are glaringly bright and it's doing no favours for the cloudy feeling in her head, a side effect of the chlorophyll. She’s pretty sure the voice came from inside the room but she can’t see any figure. She’s strapped down onto the bed, preventing her from sitting up and seeing the rest of the room. “I do apologise for the restraints,” A voice says from a corner of the room that is obscured by her rounded stomach. “but given your skillset, I’m sure you can understand why I’ve taken the necessary measures.”

The voice sounds familiar but her brain is too clouded to recall where from. That is until the figure stands and walks into her view.

“Ross.”

General Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross stands in her view, a smile on his face and looking every bit the weasel she remembers him to be. “That’s _General_ Ross to you.”

“Last I heard you’re no longer an army general.” She says with a smirk, intentionally trying to irk him.

His smile falters, but only slightly. “For now.” Ross brings over a chair to sit directly opposite her. “I must say Miss Romanoff I did underestimate your abilities. I was hoping to have all three of my men return.”

“Sorry to disappoint. Did you forget who you were up against?” She asks nonchalantly.

“Evidently.”

“Tell me, Ross. Do you make a habit of kidnapping pregnant women or am I just a special case.” She turns to give him another smirk. “I’d like to think I’m special but then that may just be my ego talking.”

“No Romanoff, you are very special. Or at least, that child of yours is.” Natasha’s smirk falters. “You see that’s the only reason you’re still alive.”

She takes a moment to process and rebuild her mask. “You know, I haven’t truly enjoyed killing someone in a long time. You stop taking joy from that sort of thing when you go straight.” Her smirk reappears. “But I’m going to thoroughly enjoy killing you when I get out of here.”

“Ah Miss Romanoff, you assume you’re going to make it out of here.”

“I’ve escaped from worse situations. I’d say my odds are looking quite good.”

“As I said, he” Ross nods towards her stomach. “is the only reason you’re still alive.” He stands and places a hand on her stomach. Natasha squirms under his touch but the restraints mean there’s little room for her move away. “Once our boy here is born, I’ll have no use for you. And I can assure you that I will put you down like the bitch that you are.”

Natasha has to fight to keep her mask from faltering. “What do you want him for?”

“I’ve spent almost a decade trying to get Banner’s-“

“ _Dr_ Banner,” Natasha interjects.

Ross waves of the interruption. “-body turned over to the military for research purposes. But then I found out about this little miracle.” He places his other hand on her stomach and Natasha stills herself against trying to pull away. “A beast like Banner has proven too uncontrollable to be of value. But a child with his abilities, that can be trained from birth. Well, that’s the type of thing that doesn’t just get you reinstated, that gets you a ticket to the White House.”

“Well, I hate to be the one that bursts your bubble… actually no, I’m really gonna enjoy bursting your bubble.” Ross has finally removed his hands from her stomach. “We’ve done the tests; he’s not got any traces of Hulk DNA. So I’m afraid your plan truly has failed.”

“You and I both know those tests aren’t fully conclusive, not until after birth.”

“And what happens when you find out he’s just a normal kid?”

Ross leans over her, his faces inches away as he leers at her. “Then his body will join yours on the heap.” Natasha sees red at that moment and flings her head forward, landing solidly to his jaw. Ross pulls back, wiping the blood from his busted lip with the pad of his thumb. “I’m gonna let that one slide. I won’t be so forgiving next time.”

“I swear I am going to kill you when I get out of here. And trust me, I will get out of here.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt you’ll try. That’s why I’ve taken the necessary precautions.” Ross nods towards one of the cameras and a red dot appears on Natasha’s stomach. “I have a trained sniper ready to shoot when I give the order. Or if you make any attempt to escape or act violently in any way. Now as I’m sure you’re aware the shot won’t be fatal… not to you at least.” He places a hand her stomach again and the red dot is the only thing stopping her from lashing out again. “You’d die eventually. But not before the child.”

Natasha can feel the tears beginning to well as the anger builds up, the hormones making it harder for her to maintain an image of being unfazed by Ross’ threats. “You give the order and then all this is for nothing.”

“I agree it would be a waste.” Ross turns away from her, putting his chair back in its original location next to the table. “So I’d appreciate you not doing anything rash. But in the event that you do… well, there’s always Banner.” He returns by the side of the bed, his hands over one of her arm restraints. “I’m gonna untie these. It’s in everyone’s best interest that you cooperate.”

Natasha lays still as Ross undoes her arm restraints then moves to undo the ones restraining her legs. Once her limbs are free she shuffles back to sit upright, arms instinctively circling her stomach in a protective manner. Every fibre of her being is telling her to fight and break free but the flutter in her stomach reminds her what’s at risk.

“You won’t get away with this.”

“Whether I do or whether I don’t” Ross walks towards the door and accepts a tray of food from one of the guards. “You won’t be alive to find out.” He places the tray on the table and gestures for Natasha to sit. “It does none of the parties involved any good if you don’t eat, Miss Romanoff.” He says when she stays put, but the growl in her stomach reminds her it has been a while since she’s eaten. After a few moments, she stands and walks over to the table, fighting aginst every instinct in her body that's telling her to break Ross' nose. “You’re last few days could actually be quite pleasant here.”

With that final remark, Ross leaves the room. Natasha takes deep breaths, willing the tears away. She’s been in these types of situations many times before and made it out on the other side. But that was when her life was the only one at risk, this time’s different and everything is at stake. She knows Bruce will be doing all he can to find her but there’s nothing she can do herself that won’t risk the life that grows inside of her. She’s just going to have to wait this one out.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is really starting to lose his shit.  
> Natasha has an unwelcomed visitor.

“Hey Buddy, you finally done with being green?” Bruce’s brain still feels foggy from the Hulk-out, his whole body feeling as though he’s been hit by a bus. Tony stands before him, in his Ironman armour holding out a shirt. Bruce takes the shirt and wearily eyes his surroundings, cautious to view the destruction he’s caused. He notices that they’re in a field not far from the highway. With an uncertain nod, Bruce puts on the shirt. “Good, we’ve got some work to do.”

Tony helps Bruce to his feet and leads the way to the Quinjet that’s parked at the other end of the field.

“Was anyone hurt?” Bruce asks remembering he lost control in a semi-populated area.

“Only a few cars and a couple trees.”

“Natasha?”

The look on Tony’s face is enough to tell Bruce all he needs to know. “We’ve got some leads, but…” Tony sounds defeated, which is a rare occasion for the usually optimistic billionaire. “We’ll find her Bruce.” He says in a failed attempt to be reassuring. Tony leads Bruce onto the Quinjet and to his usual seat, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders. He offers Bruce an energy bar then leaves on the empty seat next to him- Natasha’s usual seat- when Bruce eyes it unenthusiastically. “Cap, tell me you’ve got something.”

Steve’s deep sigh is far from encouraging. “I’ve spoken to Rhodes; he says there’s no official order from the US military to capture Natasha. So this couldn’t have been legit.”

“There are no calls for Natasha’s detention from any of the secretive security services.” Hill adds, “And as far as S.H.I.E.L.D. is aware, no foreign agency has placed a call for the seizure of any of members of the Avengers, active or retired.”

Bruce barks a loud laugh as he chuckles to himself. All eyes turn on him as he doubles over and can’t stop the tear that escapes from his full-belly laugh; a mixture of humour and internalised anger causing his current state. The humour of it all because he seems to be the only one that knows who’s behind this and hasn’t been able to tell anyone because he was too busy being engulfed by his rage, and anger because had he not let the rage get the better of him they would be one step closer to finding Natasha.

Steve’s stare hardens and his jaw sets in frustration. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry…” Bruce says through his laughter. “It’s really not….” He shakes off the last of the laughter and wipes away the few stray tears that are now solely to do with his anger towards the whole situation. “It’s Ross.”

“As in former Secretary of Defence Ross?” Tony asks.

“Who else would have a large enough vendetta against me that they would attack a heavily pregnant woman and has the military connections to carry the attack out in broad daylight?”

“Why would Ross want to kidnap Natasha?”

“He’s spent the past decade trying to get his hands on the Hulk, with no success.” Maria supplies. “So when he found out that Hulk is having a kid-"

“Ross saw an opportunity.” Tony finishes.

“Exactly.”

Clint enters the Quinjet with Sam following close behind, both men have their jaws set in frustration.

“We’ve hit a dead-end with the security footage,” Sam reports to Steve, offering Bruce an apologetic look. “We managed to track the Jeep they took Natasha into an underground tunnel off of the 5th exit on the highway but there’s no footage of it re-emerging on either side.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. track the footage of the highway from the past 5 hours,” Tony commands the AI through his faceplate. “Look for any vehicle that exits either side of the tunnel.” There’s a tense silence as everyone waits for the AI to find anything. Bruce internally chides himself again for losing control. 5 hours wasted that they could’ve spent tracking down Ross. “Okay” Tony’s voice draws him out of his thoughts. “track that van and get the video up on the screen.” Tony lifts his faceplate as the video projection of a black transit van emerging from the tunnel appears before them. “There’s no footage of this van entering the tunnel, but 30 minutes after the Jeep enters the tunnel, this van exits and the Jeep doesn’t.”

“So likelihood is, they switched vehicles to avoid detection,” Steve says.

“Or they just want to throw us off their scent,” Bruce mumbles to himself.

“I still don’t see what Ross would want with Natasha.”

“Steve, there’s a child with my DNA,” Bruce says bitterly to the super-soldier. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he wants.” Clint places a calming hand on his shoulder to settle him back down, Bruce completely unaware of the green tinge his skin has taken. Bruce settles back and takes a deep breath, scrubbing his face down with his hands. “He’s not after Natasha, he’s after our kid.”  
“Rhodey, what have you got for me?” Tony asks the holographic image of Colonel Rhodes which has popped up in the centre of the jet.

“It’s not looking good.” Bruce physically deflates at those words. “The Sokovia Accords were the very thing that got Ross into the position of Secretary of Defence. After the business with Thanos, the world saw that the Accords didn’t work and Ross lost his position. Which as you can imagine, he didn’t take very well. Ross was shortly stripped of his title as general for improper conduct for an unrelated incident.”

“So how has he still got military connections?” Steve interrupts.

“There’s a faction of the military that’s still loyal to Ross and his… anti-enhanced stance. A few weeks ago Ross spoke to the world security council where he told them that he had access to a young enhanced individual with the powers of the Hulk that would be able to be trained and controlled, and in the meantime, the blood of said enhanced could be used to replicate a serum. Ross wants to use the baby to create an army of enhanced individuals.”

“How is the security council allowing this?” Sam asks. “Surely they’re not so corrupt that they support the kidnapping of a pregnant woman and the exploitation of an unborn child?”

“I don’t think they know the full extent of the situation,” Rhodes explains. “Ross’ report was very vague-"

“How did Ross find out about the baby in the first place?”

Steve’s question goes unanswered as Tony signals attention towards the display on the screen that is currently showing the van pull up at what looks like an airfield. They watch on as two men dressed in a similar getup as the dead man back at the parking lot exit the van and open up the back, pulling out an unconscious Natasha. Bruce can feel the Other Guy trying to force his way out as he watches the two men carry Natasha to a small aircraft, loading her onto the plane with almost no care for her current state. The keep watching in disbelief as the plane takes off and they’re left staring at the image of an empty airfield.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., can we track that plane?” Tony asks frantically.

“That’s a negative boss. This footage is from 4 hours and 12 minutes ago. The satellites can’t pick up that plane in any airspace.” If Bruce didn’t know any better he’d say that the AI actually sounded saddened by the situation. “If I had to guess I’d say the aircraft has already landed.”

“Shit!” Clint slams his fist on the table in rage, the first slip of emotion the archer has displayed towards the situation since Bruce called him. “She could be anywhere.”

“Okay, lets all just calm down a little.” Steve’s authoritative voice attempts to calm the situation. “Look, I know we all want Natasha back and we’re feeling more than a little frustrated but we gotta be logical about this or else we’ll never find her.”

“Steve’s right, we gotta use logic here. Where could Ross have taken her?” Sam asks of no one in particular.

“What about an old military base?” Tony turns his attention to the hologram of Rhodes. “Could Ross have access to any of those?”

“He could do. Some remain guarded but there are quite a few that aren’t.”

“Okay, F.R.I.D.A.Y., get me a map of all the unguarded military bases in the U.S.” At Tony’s command, a map pops up on the screen scattered with two dozen red dots indicating the abandoned military bases. “That’s a lot of abandoned bases.”

“We need to narrow it down. They know we’ll be looking for her so they’re not gonna want to have her on the street for long right?” At a few tentative nods, Steve continues. “Okay, so get rid of the ones that are more than a 30-minute drive from an airfield.” A good handful of the dots disappear from the screen but a large number still remain.

“They’re gonna be running a decent sized energy bill. F.R.I.D.A.Y., take down any of the ones that aren’t using up any energy.” Tony waits as the AI complies. The number of dots reduce down to five. “Okay, that’s doable.”

“ _Doable_?” Bruce questions, standing from where he’s been sat quietly for a while. “Tony, they’re scattered around the country! What are we gonna do, bust into every signal base and hope that she’s in one of them?”

“It’s the best lead we’ve got,” Clint interjects. “And it’s better than sitting on our ass’s and doing nothing.”

“We can hit these two first.” Steve points to two red dots that aren’t far from them and close together. “And then we’ll make a plan for the other three.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., run facial recognition on every camera across the country. Notify me as soon as you find something.”

“Yes, boss.”

“In the meantime, I think we all really need to smash something.”

  
~*~

  
Natasha increased the speed on the treadmill, taking her from a slow stroll to a brisk walk. She’d made the case for needing a decent means for exercise and after two days of compliance, Ross had decided to ‘reward’ her good behaviour with the treadmill.

As much as compliance wasn’t in her nature, breaking herself out just wasn’t an option with so much at risk. The Avengers were coming for her; Bruce was coming for her. But until they got here all she could do was play by Ross’ rules and leverage her good behaviour for things that will make her time here in this cell much more comfortable. Hence the magazines to keep her sane and the pregnancy pillow which she was rewarded after complaints of being unable to find a good position to sleep in on the lumpy mattress. The treadmill was a recent addition to her room, no _cell_ \- she had to remember that this was temporary, her cell was temporary and Bruce wouldn’t allow her to stay here for long. 

It was a foreign state for her to be in; waiting for someone else to come and save her. She’d been in situations before where she’d needed help getting out but never had she had to sit and wait and not do anything to help herself. She’d never felt so… helpless. She wonders briefly if this is what it means to truly love someone, to trust them completely to come and save you when you’re unable to save yourself.

She doesn’t get to muse for long as the door opens and Ross enters her cell. She continues her exercise on the machine, waiting for him to start another monologue of his evil being for the greater good and the defence of this nation. She’s heard it all before, doesn’t need to stop and listen.

“Miss Romanoff. You have a visitor today.” That causes her to stop the treadmill. A visitor implies someone wanting to see her but not wanting to help her escape. No one that she can think of would fit that description. “You’ve done well so far; I’d hate to see you do anything foolish to bring your stay here to an unexpected end.” Right, so it’s someone who wants to see her but not someone she’d want to see. She’s got plenty of people who fit that description, though admittedly most of them are dead. “Come in doctor.”

The level of shock Natasha feels almost betrays her mask when Dr Shaw- their OB/GYN- enters the room. “Are you kidding Ross?” Natasha asks in disbelief. “Not only did you kidnap me but you went and kidnapped a doctor as well? Do you not think people will be looking for her too?”

“I can assure you Dr Shaw is no victim here, simply a willing participant.” That was not what she was expecting to hear. She turns her gaze towards the doctor, who is making a show of looking everywhere but at her. Nothing about the doctor’s stance displays signs that she’s here under duress. If anything, she looks as though she’s just making a visit to another patient, as though this is just another room on the floor of her usual practice. “I’m sure you’ll find everything you’ll need doctor. Should you require anything else my men will see that you have it.” The doctor nods and Ross turns his attention back to Natasha. “Miss Romanoff, if you continue your display of good behaviour there may be a shower in it for you.”

Ross leaves her alone with the doctor and it takes everything Natasha has not to kill the woman that stands before her. It would be so easy to simply snap the woman’s neck, so satisfying to hear the crunch as the bone breaks and watch the body go limp. And yet once again she’s left feeling helpless.

“So you’re the one that told Ross about the baby?” 

Dr Shaw ignores the question, not that Natasha needs her response to confirm the answer. “Miss Romanoff please lay back on the bed, I’m sure you know the procedure by now.” Natasha doesn’t move, still watching the woman who stands across the room. The doctor sighs as she approaches her. “Miss Romanoff you’re due in less than a week. I need to ensure that there will be no complications with the delivery.”

Natasha breathes slowly as she pushes away all thoughts of murder, there will be time for that. For now, she needs to ensure that her child is safe. She lays back on the bed and preps herself for the doctor’s exam as she’s done so many times now. She watches the doctor as she sets up the medical equipment that had been brought into the cell a few hours ago, as she squirts the ultrasonic gel onto her stomach and waves the wand over it, only drawing her focus away when the image comes up on the screen.

The doctor says nothing throughout the test, nor does she acknowledge Natasha as she scribbles notes on a chart.

“Why are you doing this?” Natasha asks. “I see what Ross gets from it, but I don’t see how you benefit.”

“I don’t get anything.” The doctor responds.

“Right. So why do it?”

“Do you honestly believe this child will be safe being raised by two monsters?” Shaw spits out. “Can you tell me that a man that turns into a literal monster and a woman who has murdered hundreds of innocents are fit to be parents?”

The words hurt more not because they’re untrue, but because they’re the exact thoughts that she has herself. She has no doubts that Bruce will be an excellent father, but what kind of example can she set? How can she tell I child not to hit when she’s made a living out of it? Or tell him to be good and compassionate when compassion is something she’s only just learning herself? She’s no mother, the red room made sure of that. But she has to believe that between having her as a mother and being raised as a test subject, she’s the better option.

“And you think Ross will do a better job?”

“I think almost anyone could do a better job than you two.”  
  
“He’ll be raised as a weapon!” Natasha yells, trying to plead with the doctors vague sense of morality. “No child deserves that.”

She can see some flicker of remorse flash over the doctor’s face but it goes as quickly as it comes. “My examination is done, have you any medical questions for me before I go.”

“Yeah.” Natasha sighs the helpless feeling washing over her again. “He’s... he's been moving a lot lately, more than usual. I dunno if he’s stressed or something.”

The doctor smiles down at her and Natasha would give anything just to be able to wipe it off her face. “He’s moving into the birthing position. He’ll feel more active than usual but he’ll settle down once he’s in position.” She packs up the last of the equipment, preparing to leave. “I’ll be back for the delivery. Until then I’d recommend plenty of rest, though it does look like you won’t be venturing out far.”

As the doctor turns to leave Natasha reaches out to grab her wrist, making one last-ditch attempt to appeal to the doctors sense of humanity. “Ross is gonna kill him you know.” If the doctor is doing this for the child then surely this will make her understand the gravity of the situation. “Ross is only interested if he’s got Hulk DNA, when Ross finds that he doesn’t, when he’s born as a normal little boy he’s gonna kill him. He told me himself.” She can see the uncertainty washing over the other woman’s face. “If you’re truly doing this for the good of the child then surely the best thing would be to help us get out of here.”

The doctor yanks her arm out of Natasha’s grip. “I’ll see you in a few days, Miss Romanoff.” Natasha can only hope that she’s somewhat managed to get through to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last completed chapter I have so updates won't be as rapid from here on out, though we are almost at the end... I think.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all getting a bit much for Bruce and Natasha comes to a painful realisation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been a little slow with this update (well for my standards at least). But between my birthday, graduation, job applications and interviews, I've been a little busy.   
> Anyways, here's another update for you. Hope you enjoy.

Bruce was officially sick of busting into old military compounds. They had hit three with no sign of Natasha or Ross and Bruce couldn’t help but feel as though they were on some kind of wild goose chase. But he couldn’t give up. Natasha had been missing for nearly a week now and with each passing day they were edging closer to the due date and Bruce swore to himself that if he missed the birth of this child he was going to personally kill Ross himself. Although at this rate he was pretty sure he was going to kill Ross anyways. Messing with him was one thing, but to attack his family, well that was a whole different situation altogether.

  
They had just touched down at the location for the fourth abandoned base and Bruce was getting himself ready for another Hulk-out, though it was really starting to take a toll on him. He and the Hulk had come to a better understanding of each other since their trip to outer space but that didn’t make the physical exertion of transforming any easier and having transformed so many times in such a short period, he was beyond exhausted. But he couldn’t stop, not until they found Natasha and he knew she was safe. No matter how tired he was they had to go on.

  
The ramp to the Quinjet came down and Bruce readied himself for a transformation. But when he stepped out of the jet he noticed that they weren’t at a military base but in the parking lot of a motel. Bruce turns to Steve ready to object but the Captain shakes his head. “We’ve been going flat out for almost a week Banner,” Cap says as he places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We need to get some rest. You especially.”

  
“What we _need_ is to find Natasha.” Bruce shrugs off Steve’s hand and starts to head back up the ramp.

  
“Steve’s right Bruce. We need to recuperate.” Tony says as he blocks Bruce’s path to the Quinjet. Bruce tries to push past him but Tony holds him back. “Bruce, you need to calm down.”

  
“DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Bruce yells, his eyes turning green and skin starting to change colour. “Natasha could be dead for all we know and you want me to what? To take a fucking nap?”

  
“What good are we if we’re all too tired to form any kind of attack?”

  
“And what if something happens to her?” His voice strains against the tide of emotions trying to force their way out. “What if something happens to the baby and I couldn’t stop it because I was taking a nap?” Bruce collapses in an emotional heap onto Tony’s shoulder, jerking as he sobs and murmurs about failing to protect Natasha.

  
Tony wraps his arms around him, cradling his head in the crook of his neck. “Shh, I know buddy, I know.”

  
Bruce can’t help but feel pathetic at this moment, especially now that Tony’s rubbing his back like a small child as he cries his eyes out. But it’s been such an exhausting few days and Bruce had been fighting to contain his emotions, a mixture of fear and rage simmering below the surface and now it’s finally boiled over. With every second that passes the voice in the back of his head gets louder. The one telling him that Natasha is dead and that their child is dead, and it’s all because of him. Because he was stupid enough to think that he could actually have a normal life; a family. He had allowed himself to embrace the delusions that his life with Natasha would be simple and free from any danger now that they had both retired from the hero gig on a semi-permanent basis, and yet all it took was a few moments for Ross to prove him wrong.

  
He hadn’t realised Tony had led him to one of the motel rooms to sleep until he woke up with a start to the sound of beeping. Had he really been that tired and emotionally wrecked that he didn’t realise what was going on around him? He shouldn’t be so surprised; it wouldn’t be the first time.

  
His phone is buzzing away on the side table and he wonders who could possibly be calling him. Very few people had his mobile number and by very few, he meant the people that were with him here at this rundown motel, Thor (despite him only having a phone when he was on earth and thus with them), Dr Strange… and Natasha of course. His mind coursed with hope thinking she had maybe gotten free and was able to call him.

  
He flips his phone over and felt his body physically deflate when he saw the caller ID. Of course, it wouldn’t be Natasha, it was foolish of him to even think it possible.

  
His voice is groggy when he answers. “Dr Shaw, I’m sorry that we missed our last appointment.” He sighs, scrubbing his face down with his hand. “Something… something’s come up.”

  
“Dr Banner, I know where Natasha is.”

  
His heart stills as confusion muddles his brain. “What? What do you mean-“

  
“I’ve sent you the coordinates for the base.” Bruce draws the phone away from his ear, staring at the bright screen with bleary eyes as a message comes through with coordinates. “She’s being kept safe but I don’t know how much longer that will last.”

  
“Can we just… what’s going on?”

  
“I’m so sorry Dr Banner.”

  
“No, wait!” The other line cuts off and Bruce is left there listening to the never-ending beep of the line going dead as he tries to wrap his head around the phone call.

  
Dr Shaw knows where Natasha is, so did she have something to do with her kidnapping? Was she the one to tell Ross about the baby? But why? None of it made any sense but he had the coordinates and they could find Natasha and that was all that mattered right now. Bruce springs from the bed and rushes from the room barefoot. He frantically bangs on one of the neighbouring rooms absentmindedly noting that this may well be a strangers room and not one of his teams’.

  
Luckily Tony answers the door, shirtless, with the arc reactor for his Nano-suit glowing in the late-night darkness. “Woah buddy, what’s going on?”

  
“I know where she is.”

  
~*~

  
Natasha knows pain. Pain is a familiar friend, an old friend; one of her oldest in fact. From her early days in the Red Room, they had gone through ‘pain conditioning tests’ to teach them how to push pain to the back and focus on the mission ahead. Since then she’s learnt that pain is a matter of the mind. A gunshot wound can easily be forgotten if you push it back and bring the mission objective to the fore. You register the injuries, take a few breaths and push through and carry on. It’s as simple as that.

  
That’s what she told herself during the first few contractions, the ones that felt like nothing more than a period cramp coupled with a bit of discomfort. But that was a few hours ago, and now the period cramps have evolved into full-fledged pain as her lower vagina tightens and she feels the downward push in her uterus. The Braxton Hicks were a breeze compared to these; she thinks absentmindedly as she breathes through the pain. She could almost laugh now as she thinks back to two weeks prior when they had thought she was going into labour. Bruce had been a panicked mess and she would’ve been just as bad if it hadn’t been for the shooting pains in her lower abdomen. And yet when they had finally gotten to the hospital they were told it was nothing more than a false alarm and they’d have to wait another few weeks for the real deal. The real deal that was happening right now, in a cell.

  
She’d never imagined herself going into labour in a cell. Well, truth be told she hadn’t imagined going into labour at all. Sure she knew it was coming, a natural part of pregnancy especially given she was edging so close to the end of her third trimester. But her brain still couldn’t wrap around the notion that she was going to give birth, let alone give birth in a cell. Though she’s using all her might to try and hold off for as long as she can, the moment she gives birth she’s dead and her child is lost to Ross which she can’t let happen. Yet there’s nothing she can do to stop the natural order of things, a fact she’s painfully reminded of as she doubles down over her bed to brace herself against another contraction.

  
They’re closer together now and feel as though they’re doubling up on top of each other. Whether one of the snipers have cocked on to what’s happening she can’t quite tell, there’s certainly been no visit from Ross or Dr Shaw which tells her that either the snipers are just that dumb or somethings up. Maybe she had managed to get through to Shaw and she’s ditched the project, leaving Ross to scramble for another OB/GYN. She’d count that as a small victory if it hadn’t meant that she was without pain meds. Laura had advised her to take everything made available and she had intended to do just that and now she was starting to understand why. Being shot was one thing, but feeling a small human trying to squeeze its way out of you was a whole different ball game.

  
She can’t help the slight sigh of relief when Ross enters her cell. Sure his presence couldn’t possibly be a good thing in any scenario, but at least it presents a chance for some pain relief and she read that labour can last anywhere between three to twelve hours, which is still enough time for the others to get to her. Maybe they won’t be able to save her, but maybe they can save her child, and that’s all that matters at this point.

  
“Evening Miss Romanoff.” There’s an air of tension in his voice as though he’s forcing himself to sound casual. Something’s definitely up. “We’re moving you to a different facility.”

  
“I don’t know if you’re just that stupid Ross.” She grits out against this never-ending contraction. “But I’m not exactly in any position to go anywhere right now.”

  
“Ah yes, I remember when my wife was going into labour. The contractions didn’t seem enjoyable.” Ross walks over to her, not the least bit concerned for her current state, and grabs her upper arm, dragging her towards the door. “I’d take pity on you if you weren’t the reason for our sudden need to relocate.”

  
“What are you talking about Ross.” She tries to struggle against his grip but is stopped suddenly by the cold press of a barrel against her abdomen, a reminder that Ross is a whole different kind of monster. She takes a deep breath and wills her voice not to come out shaky. “I haven’t done anything Ross.”

  
“Do you really expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with Dr Shaw’s sudden change of heart?” So she had gotten through to her.

  
Now out of the confines of her cell, Natasha can hear the distant commotion that could pass as a rescue mission and the unmistakable roar of the Hulk. They’re cutting it close but the timing had never really been their thing and she can easily forgive them if they manage to get her out of here alive.

  
“Sorry to have ruined your plans.” She says, her voice dripping with sarcasm as Ross leads her down one of the halls.

  
“Oh, you haven’t done anything of the sort just yet Ms Romanoff.” Hoards of Ross’s men are marching out to various exit points, heavily armed and evidently not willing to give up so easily. “So long as I have you, I have a way out.” Which was true, none of the Avengers would risk taking down Ross if it put her at risk, but she knows for certain none of them would simply stand back and watch him take her elsewhere. Not when they’ve come this close. “Block every entrance.” Ross commands of his men. “Don’t engage until we’re underground.”

  
“You could still walk away from this Ross. If you leave me now and get out yourself.” She knows the plea won’t work, but she needs to stall. She can hear the bone-crushing sounds of the Hulk trying to force his way through the hoard of men, the ping of Steve’s shield as it bounces from each assailant, the swoosh of Clint’s arrows and the sound of Tony’s thrusters- the sound of her rescue squad. If she can just stall him, then they might just be able to get to her. “They’ll stop chasing you if they have me. But if you take me with you then they’ll come after you. And if something happens to me or the baby, Bruce will never stop.”

  
“Ms Romanoff, I’d thoroughly appreciate it if you’d stop talking.” His grip on her forearm tightens as he takes another turn down the hall and into a large open space that looks like a standard mess hall. “God I can’t wait to kill you.” A body being flung into the adjacent wall stops their movement towards a large metal door on the other side of the hall. The large gaping hole in the wall from which the body came opening up to reveal a thoroughly pissed off Hulk. This can’t end well. “I wouldn’t come any closer if I was you.” Ross brings the gun up to the side of her temple as though to highlight the reason why it’s best Hulk doesn’t move. Hulk does, anyway, taking a step to emerge on the other side of the hole and join them in the hall. “Don’t move you big dumb fucking oath!” Ross spits out as Hulk steps forward again; another step has Ross cocking the gun. “Don’t you fucking move or I’m gonna blow her brains out.” The calm control he once demonstrated has made way for the uncontrolled rage he now presents. That could be potentially fatal for her.

  
His finger is so close to the trigger that Natasha can’t help the sweat gathering at her brow, or the shake in her legs as she feels her legs turn to jelly. Fear, she thinks. Something she feels often but hasn’t been unable to control since… since the Helicarrier incident. She takes a deep breath, willing the fear to dull to a more manageable level as she says “hey big guy. I could really do with talking to Bruce right now.”

  
~*~

  
Puny Banner don’t usually let Hulk smash so much.

  
Puny Banner usually not let Hulk smash at all.

  
But today Puny Banner let Hulk smash all bad people.

  
Hulk like smash bad people.

  
Puny Banner says Red’s in trouble and needs Hulk’s help so Hulk gets to smash all the bad people he sees.

  
Hulk wants to smash bad man with puny gun pointed at Red.

  
But Hulk seen what puny gun can do to puny humans. Hulk smash worse, but puny gun still bad.

  
Hulk doesn’t want bad to happen to Red. Never.

  
Red asks to see Puny Banner. Puny Banner asks to see Red.

  
Hulk want to smash more but Puny Banner let Hulk smash lots. So Hulk let Puny Banner see Red.

  
~*~

  
The transformation looks almost effortless. Asides from the obvious pain that comes with such transformation, this one doesn’t leave Bruce writhing on the floor in agony. Once he returns to his normal pinkish state he’s able to stand again, feet a little shaky but able to maintain his weight- maybe it’s a result of the adrenaline, maybe it’s Bruce pushing aside the exhaustion he’s inevitably feeling, maybe it’s both.

  
The sight of him makes her lip tremble. The combined cruelty of the situation at hand. This may well be the last time she sees him, but at least he’s the last thing she’ll see. “ _Bruce_.” She says his name like a prayer. Like if it’s the last time she ever gets to say it then she wants the gods to hear this one, and his response of saying her name in kind forces the tear from her eye. 

  
She feels the gun push harder into her skull, the force causing her head to tilt to the side. “Banner, nice of you to join our little show.” Ross’ finger caresses the trigger and she holds her breath, bracing against what might come.

  
Bruce holds his hands up to show he means no harm. As though a half-naked, completely exhausted man about 20 metres away would pose any threat. “Ross, you don’t want to do this.”

  
“No, I don’t. But needs must.” He says with a shrug and the calm resolve of earlier. “I would advise against stepping any closer. We don’t want to make a mess.”

  
“Bruce.” He’s focussed on the gun and on Ross but she needs him to focus on her now, needs to know that he’s listening. “Bruce! I need you to listen to me.” She takes a deep breath. “If something happens to me-"

  
“I’m not gonna le-"

  
“Bruce listen! If something happens to me, then I need you to get him out. You’ll have about 15 minutes to get him out and you’ll need to get him to a hospital fast.” She doesn’t want to dwell on why she knows that but can’t help but feel as though this is her just desserts. Like this is her penance. Sure she’d love to see her child grow and become something amazing, but how many parents has she stolen that right from? How many times has she inflicted this kind of pain on to someone else? This only seems fair. She’d wanted to balance out her ledger and she knew deep down that the only way to really do that would be with her life, she just didn’t think there’d be an innocent life caught up in the middle of it- two if you count the effect this will have on Bruce. But then again, there always is an innocent life caught in the middle. “I need you to promise me that you’ll get him out.”

  
“Natasha I cant.”

  
She knows she’s asking a lot from him but she needs to hear him say it. “I need you to promise me, Bruce.”

  
His face is awash with pain but he tells her what she wants to hear, nevertheless. “I promise.”

  
Natasha nods, as though hearing him promise helps her come to terms with what she deems as an inevitable fate. “I love you.”

  
She doesn’t hear if he says it back. Her mind is overcome by the pain searing in her lower abdomen as another contraction takes over, causing her to double over in pain.

  
She hears a loud bang and then ringing in her ears before she feels something knock her to the ground, her head hits the floor on her way down and her vision fades to the black.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few warnings for this one; some mildly graphic depictions of death, mentions of childhood traume and bullying. Also some fluff and some feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so it looks like we're at the end. Thank you so much for everyone who read, commented and left kudos on this fic and the one before. I never intended to share these but figured if one other person enjoyed it then great, so glad to see so many of you did. Hope this last chapter rounds it all off nicely for you.

Fear. Fear is something Bruce was familiar with. He’d experienced it consistently throughout most of his childhood. He’d been afraid of his father for all his life, he can remember vividly the fear that would strike when he would hear his dad's car pull up in the driveway, unsure of whether he’d done something worthy of a beating that day. And when nothing would come his way the fear doubled as the realisation struck that it would be his mother in the firing line.

After he moved in with his aunt the fear didn’t subside, rather the object of his fear shifted. Instead of being afraid of his dad he learned to be afraid of the other kids, the older kids in particular. Bullies weren’t a new phenomenon to Bruce. He’d had to deal with quite a few before he moved in with his Aunt Susan, but when the bigger bully was at home, the ones at school didn’t seem so bad. But now with his dad out of the picture, the older kids at school kids seemed more than happy to take up the position as the new big bully in Bruce’s life.

After the accident, the fear took over a different form. No longer was he afraid of over people but rather of himself and what he could potentially do to other people. He had no control over the being within him and the destruction he could cause provided genuine fuel for his fear.

From a lifetime of living in fear there were only a few moments that truly stood out for him; the first time he truly saw his father lose control, the day his father murdered his mother, the day of the accident and his first Hulk transformation, waking up after the Helicarrier incident not knowing the extent of the damage he’d caused, his fight with Thanos. And yet none of them compared to the level of fear he was feeling right now in this moment. Right now with Natasha lying unconscious on the floor.

He’d seen her double over in pain and took that as his opportunity to take down Ross. The speed of his attack allowed him to catch the general off guard and tackle him to the floor, one punch knocking him out cold the second being excessive but no less deserved, but not before the gun went off and the next thing he knew Natasha was falling to the floor, unresponsive to his attempts to wake her. The fear he’d experienced in the past has nothing on what he’s experiencing right now.

Relief floods over him as Natasha’s eyelids flutter open on his fifth attempt of calling her name. He tentatively gathers her into his arms as the joy of seeing her for the first time in what can only be described as the worst week of his life settles in.

“Bruce” Natasha groans out “too tight.”

“Sorry” Bruce releases his grip but keeps her in his arms, after so long apart he’s not sure he ever wants to let go again. “Are you hurt? Is the baby okay?”

“I’m fine. Just maybe a little concussed.” Bruce moves his finger in front of her face, tracking her pupils as they follow, concluding that it must only be a mild concussion at the most. “Help me up?”

Bruce stood, stretching out both arms for Natasha to use as leverage to help her stand, pulling her into his arms once again when she’s on both feet. “I’m so sorry we took so long.” His face is nuzzled into her hair as he places kisses atop her head.

“You guys came at a pretty good time,” Natasha says from where her head is now thoroughly buried in the crook of his neck. “I could probably do with going to the hospital.”

Bruce pulls back, looking at her in wide-eyed horror. “What? I thought you said you were fine.”

“I am fine. Well, sort of. I just might be going into labour.”

Bruce’s eyes widened again. “Shit. Erm okay. Uh, shit.” They had planned for this moment. They knew what to do when the time came. But that plan had been for completely different circumstances. And right now his mind was at a blank, unable to think of anything else but, “ _shit_.”

“Bruce-"

“Okay,” Clint. Clint would know what to do. He can us his comms to- his comm that fell out when he transformed. “shit.”

“Bruce!” His head whipped round to look at Natasha, unaware that he had begun pacing around. “As much as I understand the shock, we kind of don’t have time for that. You guys brought a jet, right?” Bruce nodded vigorously. “Good. Get me to that.”

That’s a good plan. There are spare commlinks in the jet, he can get one of them and get in touch with the team. Or bump into one of them on the way. Of course, Natasha would be the one out of the two of them to have her head screwed on at this moment, Bruce can’t help but think that’s just another one of the many reasons why he’s so in love with this woman.

“What about him?” Bruce asks as the pass the body of a still unconscious General Ross.

“We’ll send one of the others to deal with him. Pass me that gun.” Bruce gives Ross a quick nudge with his foot to ensure he’s still out. Satisfied that Ross won’t be getting up anytime soon Bruce retrieves the gun and hands it over to Natasha who expertly checks the chamber and cocks the gun, ready to aim at any incoming targets. “Stay close. Don’t go green.”

Bruce reaches a hand to the back of Natasha’s head, pulling her head in for a bruising kiss that’s filled with all the pent-up emotions from the past week. “Let’s go have this baby.”

“Lead the way,” Natasha says with a smirk before giving him a quick peck and turning towards the giant hole made by the Hulk.

The hole leads out to another corridor that’s bearing the damage of its recent visit by the Hulk, dents in the ceiling, fist-shaped holes, and multiple mutilated bodies. Usually, Bruce would grimace, troubled with the sight of such destruction, particularly that which was caused by his own giant hands. Yet this site spurs no such feelings. These people willingly participated in the kidnapping of a pregnant woman, no less the woman he loves who’s pregnant with his child. He can’t help but feel they somewhat deserved their fate.

One of Ross’ guards turns the corner and Natasha has a bullet through his head before he can even lift his firearm to aim, evidently as unwilling to show mercy to any of these men as the Hulk was and with good reason. Bruce collects the man’s weapon, figuring it best to arm himself too, just in case. They come across a few more men that Natasha swiftly takes out before they bump into Steve in a hand-to-hand fight with one of the men. Natasha aims but can’t get a clear shot without hitting Steve. Luckily her intervention isn’t needed as Steve sweeps his legs under the man, knocking him on his back. A solid punch to the jaw stops him from attempting to get up, Natasha’s headshot stops him from ever getting up again.

“Natasha,” His use of last names abandoned and his choice to ignore the unnecessary kill are a clear demonstration of his joy of knowing Natasha’s okay. “good to have you back.”

“I have never been happier to see your star-spangled ass, Rogers,” Natasha responds with a smirk and Bruce can’t help but agree.

“And what about my shiny red one?” Tony says as he comes swooping in from one of the numerous Hulk-made holes.

“ _And_ your shiny red one, Stark.”

“As great as this reunion is guys,” Bruce interrupts “but we’re kind of on the clock here.” At Steve and Tony’s confused looks he adds “the baby’s coming.”

“Shit! Great timing Romanoff.”

“I hardly have any control over it Stark.” Natasha retorts “If I did then right now is obviously not the time I’d choose to go into labour.”

“Can we focus?”

“Right team, new mission: Barton, secure the jet and get it ready for take-off,” Steve says into his comms. “Wilson and Hill, you two deal with any of Ross’ men that are still standing. I think we’ve got most of them neutralised but there may be a few leftovers.” God, Bruce could kiss Steve right now, this man really does know how to take charge of the most bizarre situations. “Stark, you cover the back, I’ll take the front. We’ll get you two back to the jet.”

“Let’s look alive guys and gals,” Tony says over the comms. “We’ve got an Avenger’s baby coming!”

They managed to make it back to the jet without any more altercations with Ross’ men, making Bruce sigh in relief when they climbed up the ramp and got Natasha settled into one of the chairs. Clint got them up in the air instantly but couldn’t resist the chance to comment, “Seriously Nat, you couldn’t’ve held off for like a few more hours?”

Her retort is quick despite the pain of another contraction, “You guys couldn’t’ve come a few hours earlier?”

Clint’s subsequent smirk and remark of: “glad to see you’re okay.” Is met with a rather angry: “I swear to god Clinton if you don’t get me to a fucking hospital soon!”

“Hey hey hey hey! If you’re gonna threaten anyone threaten Banner. He’s the one that got you into this mess.”

Bruce’s head shoots up at Clint’s words, looking wide-eyed and confused at why he would be the blame for all this.

“He’s right buddy,” Tony says, being the ever so unhelpful best friend that he is. “your seed did the deed.”

“Please don’t ever say that again-“ Bruce says at the same as Natasha asks, “why is Stark here?”

“Let’s not go voting people off the island just yet.” Bruce can feel the jet beginning its descent and knows the words Clint will say next. The words his both excited and simultaneously terrified to hear. “We’re here.”

They’re rushed out of the jet and into the emergency room so quickly that Bruce barely has time to do his breathing techniques and calm his nerves before they’re in one of the private rooms- quite a fancy looking one thanks to Tony’s celebrity status- surrounded by all sorts of nurses and doctors, as well as the three other members of the Avengers who had to be shooed out of the room. And with good reason too. He’s pretty sure Natasha wouldn’t want them to see her like this: curls sodden with sweat, skin flushed pink, face crinkled in pain with every push that she gives. He’s pretty sure she wouldn’t really want him to see her like this if she could have her own way, but there was no way he was leaving her and definitely no way he was missing this moment.

He’d seen Natasha in pain before, numerous times in fact. He’d helped stitch up bullet holes, reset broken bones, clean up cuts, the works. On all of those occasions, she’d been able to hide the majority of the pain she was feeling. For years he thought that she maybe didn’t feel pain like most people did. He’d had a working hypothesis of the types of testing that was done on her and the other girls in the Red Room to increase their pain threshold. Later, after he’d gotten to know Natasha more, she’d told him about the conditioning that they went through and he’d begun to wish that they had done chemical testing on her and the other girls instead. That would be a whole lot easier to get to grips with than the thoughts of constant beatings, bloody noses and broken bones, all to teach the girls how to mentally get over the pain. It was those kinds of thoughts that made his own anger rise to the surface as opposed to the Hulks.

Once he got to know Natasha on a more personal level, he’d learnt how to spot when she was in pain- which was a trick that came in handy when she was trying to hide an injury from him or the rest of the team. He knew to look for the slight set of her jaw whenever she did something to aggravate an existing injury or the sharp intake of breath when he was stitching up a particularly tender cut or her silent curses in Russian if he accidentally pressed on a fresh bruise. Yes, he’d seen her in pain many times, but never had he seen her respond in this way. Which was a clear indicator of exactly how much pain she was going through. She was too far into the labour process to have an epidural which meant she was feeling every moment of this, and it did not look fun. Hence why Bruce didn’t take it personally when she yelled some kind of abuse his way- he figured he’d be exactly the same if he was in this situation. If anything, it simply served to make him even more grateful to her for going through all this to give him something he’d always wanted- granted she wanted it too, but that didn’t take away from how immensely grateful he was.

And his appreciation for her intensified when he heard the first cries of their child and caught his first glimpse of the small, pink body as the doctors carried him away for some checks and clean him up. “He’s here Nat.” Bruce cursed himself for not being tall enough to look over the shoulders of the nurses to catch another glimpse. “Nat, he’s perfect. You did it,” he finally gave up his attempt to catch another glimpse to turn his attention to see how Natasha was doing only to find her eyes closed and body limp, no doubt just her bodies response to all the exhaustion. He nudges her shoulder and whispers her name, knowing full well that she wouldn’t want to miss this, but to no avail as Natasha’s body remains limp. That’s when Bruce’s heart drops to the floor for what was probably the fifteenth time this week as the constant beep of the heart monitor stops and morphs into the continuous drone to signify a flatline, “Natasha!” Bruce shakes her more vigorously- a futile attempt that he knows will do no good- before he’s forced out of the room and into the hall, left panicked and confused and unsure of what’s happening.

“Bruce,” Tony stands at the end of the hall, concern written all over his face. “what’s going on?” he asks as he approaches.

“They… I… they kicked me out.” His tongue feels heavy in his mouth as he tries to explain the recent events. “she started to flatline and they kicked me out.” He knows it's for her own good, knows full well that he’d only be in their way. But he feels so useless stood out here in the hallway, unable to do anything to help.

He feels Tony’s hands on his shoulder as he guides him towards a waiting room where the rest of the team- minus Sam and Maria- are waiting. “Clint, go get some water,” Tony orders as he pushes Bruce down into one of the seats. “Steve, go and work some of that all-American charm and find out what’s happening.” Both men follow Tony’s orders without any question and Tony turns his attention back to Bruce. “The kid?” he asks tentatively as though he’s afraid of the potential answer.

Bruce nods, “he’s fine, I think. They didn’t let me see him. It all happened so fast.”

“That’s okay buddy, we’ll find out what’s going on.”

Clint returns with a plastic cup of water and Bruce doesn’t realise how much his hands are shaking until he takes hold of it. His mind goes into a spiral of regret, thinking of all the things he should’ve done differently, thinking of how he could’ve better protected Natasha. He should’ve never left her in the carpark, then none of this would be happening.

Steve returns just before his mind begins down the road of how the awful things that have happened are just his penance. “They’ve taken her down to surgery, there was some internal bleeding that went unnoticed.” Bruce nods, thinking once again about how much he’d very much like to kill Ross. “The baby-"

“Is he okay?” Bruce asks frantically.

“He’s fine,” Steve reassures. “they want to know if you want to go and see him.”

Bruce begins to shake his head, terrified that something may happen to that perfect little life if he goes near him but Clint stops him with a hand on his shoulder “He needs someone, Bruce.” Bruce is about to object but Clint continues talking, “you’ll be fine, and Natasha will be super pissed if she finds out you left him on his own. Come on.”

Steve and Clint guide him down the hall and they pass Sam and Maria on the way who instantly report to Steve on the state of Ross and his men. Bruce turns his head when he hears Maria say something about Ross getting away but Clint continues steering him towards the private room where his new-born son sleeps peacefully and Bruce is so glad to have Clint here with him.

  
~*~

  
The first thing Natasha thought when she woke was that this had all just been a dream. That she was still in Ross’ cell. Staring up at the white tile ceiling, she was certain that Bruce and the others hadn’t come to get her and she had imagined the whole thing. But then she noticed the slight differences between the ceiling she was currently looking up at and the one that was in Ross’ cell. That one had been an off-white, bordering a sort of cream colour, whereas this one was an almost clinical sort of white, the kind of white tile that’s usually in… It hadn’t been a dream. She really was out of Ross’ cell, which meant.

“Bruce?” Her voice is small and barely above a whisper but it’s enough to alert Bruce of her consciousness and the shabby-haired scientist appeared in her view, bringing an instant smile to her face. “what happened?”

“You had some internal bleeding. Maybe from the fall earlier.” his face is awash with relief. “We thought we were gonna lose you.”

“We?”

“Yeah, we.” Bruce’s grin makes her heart swell as he raises her bed so she’s slightly sat up, allowing her to see the small figure swaddled in blue blankets in the cot next to her bed and she suddenly finds it very difficult to swallow around the lump in her throat. “I think this little guy would really like to meet you.”

Bruce places the small bundle in her arms and she feels her heart swell to an impossible size as she forgets all that’s happened over the past week and simply focuses on this moment. “Hey there _мой мальчик_ ,” she whispers so as not to disturb his peaceful sleep. She nudges his tiny balled-up fist with her pinkie finger and he instinctively latches on with a death grip and she knows without a shadow of a doubt that she would kill anyone who tries to do him harm. “Я тебя очень люблю.” She lightly brushes his head with her lips and breathes in his scent; sweet and intoxicating and she knows this little guy has her heart for life. She turns her attention to the other guy who will forever hold her heart, face beaming with joy as he looks down at the two of them. “ _Я люблю тебя_.”

“ _я тоже тебя люблю_.” His accent is terrible, despite her having taught him the words months ago, but it still warms her to hear them from him.

She shuffles over, allowing Bruce space to climb onto the bed beside her. His arm instantly wraps around her waist, wrapping her in his warmth where she instantly feels safe and at home. “What happened to Ross?”

Bruce is silent for a while, long enough to make her wonder if she’d just thought of the words and not actually asked them aloud. She sees the pained look on his face when she turns to look at him, “he got away.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry Natasha. I’m so sorry you two got dragged into this. I-"

“Hey,” she leans into him, trying to get as much physical contact as she can with both hands occupied to help hammer it home when she says, “it’s not your fault.” How could he be the blame for someone else’s actions? “And it doesn’t matter now anyway. What matters is that we’re together and he’s safe. D’you hear me? That’s all that matters.” Bruce’s arm tightens around her as he places a kiss into her hair and nods.

They sit like that for some time, just the three of them wrapped up in each other. Natasha too afraid to look away from the small infant in her arms and Bruce too afraid to let go of either one of them. Eventually, their peaceful bubble is disrupted when Bruce says, “Looks like we have some visitors.” He nods over towards the door where a crowd of superheroes are waiting, each trying to get a peek through the small window in the door. “Should we let them in?” Natasha nods and Bruce waves them in.

The room is quickly filled with the Avengers who were present on her rescue mission with the addition of Colonel Rhodes, Pepper, Thor- though how they managed to contact him she’s not entirely sure, last she heard he was off-world again with Quill and his mismatched group of delinquents- and even Fury. Each of them sharing the same expression of excitement and each of them carrying a variety of balloons and teddies and flowers. Each of them a valued member of her family.

Tony opens his mouth to speak but Natasha stops him before he gets a chance. “Stark, I swear if you wake my son with you incessant ramblings I will murder.” Her volume doesn’t rise above a whisper but her tone leaves no room to doubt the validity of her threat.

“Christ Red, nice to see motherhood hasn’t changed you.” He feigns hurt but the smile on his face defies his attempt. “I just wanted to say congratulations.”

“We have someone we’d like you all to meet,” Bruce announces once all of their visitors are stood in a good position to have a clear view.

“This is Nikolai Clinton Romanoff Banner.” She turns her attention back to the sleeping bundle in her arms, his grip on her finger never faltering. “Niko, this is your family.” Her tone quietens further, as though she wants to keep her next words just between them, “ _your home_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some ideas for a few future ficlets for this universe so those may make an appearance as and when I write them.  
> If you want something to read in the meantime then feel free to check out my other work Marvel City University- it's a college AU with a Brutasha focus and now that this one is done I'll hopefully be updating that on a weekly basis.  
> Also I'm open to suggestions and requests for stories in this fic's universe (ficverse?) and or another completely unrelated universe. Main pairing focus would be Bruce and Natasha- because frankly when it comes to MCU I live for those two- but I'm open to featuring any other pairing combination.  
> Thanks again :)


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